As Rachel Jones tells us in the introduction to this book, women spend around 60 days of the year on their period. It happens 400-500 times in their lifetime. Given that’s the case, I find it strange that I’ve never before read a Christian book or heard one sermon on this topic. Our culture is talking about it, and I’ve had many conversations with friends that have ended with ‘someone should write a book about this…’ Well now, thankfully, someone has.
The conviction underlying this book is that the Bible speaks to all of life and so has something to say about this very real part of life too. The author acknowledges that women experience periods in a range of different ways, from being a mild but regular inconvenience, to being a completely debilitating burden. And she’s convinced that our bodies, periods, pms and the menopause tell us something about the gospel, but also that the gospel tells us something about how we experience all of those things as disciples of Jesus, made to bear God’s image and bear fruit in the world.
I found the way the author discusses weakness and how we respond to weakness as a Christian community particularly helpful and this makes it a good book not just for women but also for pastors, husbands, fathers and brothers who want to love well. The appendix also helpfully addresses some questions not answered in the main body of the book.
I think there’s a lot more that could be said about this topic, but this is a helpful start.