As a person who has lived with a uterus my whole life and is now sliding hard into middle-age and peri-menopause, I am deeply disturbed by the lack of scientific research and reference to the inner workings of approximately half the bodies on the planet. I felt this way when I was navigating puberty, determining which type of contraceptive was right for me.and certainly now as I navigate my embarkment into this fresh new hell...

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Enter Dr. Jen Gunter with BLOOD: THE SCIENCE, MEDICINE AND MYTHOLOGY OF MENSTRUATION (thank you to the author @drjengunter, @netgalley and @highbridgeaudio ) and Dr. Karen Tang with IT'S NOT HYSTERIA: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH (thank you to the author @karentangmd, @netgalley and the publisher @flatiron_books ).

I have read both of these this year and will now read anything either of these brilliant doctors write. Both have made strides to be informative while shedding myths and fear-mongering as well as trying to be inclusive to the variety of people that deal with reproductive health issues. I will be picking up Gunter's other two books (THE MENOPAUSE MANIFESTO and THE VAGINA BIBLE) and keeping all of these as reference and reminders.

I wish I had books like this to read when I was younger and while it is about time, I am excited to see an influx of information to empower those with a uterus to take care of their reproductive health. Also, as a bonus, both authors narrate the audiobooks which was a real treat!

If you have a uterus and have felt like there is a void of information, look no further!

Do you read nonfiction books? If so, what kinds/subjects?

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When I was first reading this book I really enjoyed it! The longer the audiobook went on, the more checked out I was. I ended up DNF-ing the book around 50%. The information that I learned was fantastic! I think this was more of a "right book at the wrong time" moment for me.

What a phenomenal read! If you menstrate (or even if you don't), you have to read this book. It's so empowering to be informed about your health and body, and I love how Dr. Jen Gunter discussed these topics in such an inclusive way. Misinformation about menstruation and birth control has been spreading like wildfire lately — I know I've seen my fair share on TikTok. Dr. Gunter did a fantastic job of addressing many of these myths as well as teaching how to more easily spot them when that content inevitably makes its way to you. The writing is not only informative but also incredibly accessible. Do yourself (and your body) a favor and please read this!

Thank you NetGalley for an early-release copy of this book!

The author of Blood did not cut corners when she went about writing this book. Since this is within her field as an OB/GYN, it’s heavily researched and examines the entire process of menstruation. When I saw how many pages there were, I was actually very surprised at how long it was because I didn’t realize there was so much to know about. I’m not sure how many other books (of quality) are out there on this subject, but I am glad I was able to read this one and learn a lot.

The only critique I have is in the way she addressed alternative options because it seemed like it went past professional and into self-righteousness which is a pet peeve with medical providers. I tend to trust them more when they lay out the facts without a ton of fanfare (situations with dire consequences being the exception), and let the patient decide. Other than that, I liked it.

Experienced OB/GYN, Dr. Jen Gunter provides a comprehensive exploration of all things related to menstruation in Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation. This book is not just a great reference for a variety of health information; it’s also an eye-opening exploration of the medical history of female anatomy. At over 17 hours of audio, this isn’t a casual listen; instead it provides insight into a wide array of topics including hormones, contraception, and medical conditions. Dr. Gunter does an especially good job explaining how treatments, supplements, hormones, and other interventions affect menstruation and how menstruation impacts other bodily functions. I would recommend this to anyone who menstruates and/or would like to understand more about what, how, and why the body does what it does.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this ALC!

Essential reading for everyone. Have you ever wondered if your period is normal? Does everyone feel like death? Am I losing too much blood? Why is no one talking about period poops? In Blood, Dr. Gunter tells you everything you need to know and more about menstruation. Finding solid, science-based books about women’s health is always difficult and I appreciate the work Gunter has done in her previous books. If you are looking for a book based in facts, backed by rigorous study and research- Gunter’s your gal. It’s incredible how little we are taught about our own bodies and a process that we will spend most of our lives dealing with. Gunter approaches her subject with expertise and compassion. There were a few passages that made me squeamish, but they weren’t graphic- I’m just very uncomfortable with descriptions of blood. Dr. Gunter does a wonderful job narrating her work and I always enjoy having an author read their own book.

What a fascinating and enlightening read on quite possibly everything you’d ever want to know (and more) on periods, hormones, birth control, and blood. It’s very clear a lot (and I mean ~a lot) of research went into this book — it’s so thorough (almost too thorough) but also easy to digest. I cut it down to four stars just due to its girth (it’s a long one!), but really loved learning from this one. (Thank you, RB Media, Dr. Jen Gunter, and NetGalley, for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Wow. Dr. Jen Gunter does it again! Once again, she has produced an amazingly researched, evidence based explanation of the female body. As a primary care physician, I will be recommending this to all of my patients with a uterus.

This was an interesting read and listen. I think it is a good resource for all women about how out body really works and the truth about many myths.

It could have been split into a few books with each book focusing on one topic. Blood was a long. I plan to get a copy so I can have it to refer to in the future.

We can’t have too much education about the female reproductive cycle out there. This book is great for empowering you to learn more about the history of and what is going on inside your body! I especially loved learning about the mythology of menstruation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for the audiobook ARC!

This is an awesome, super-informative look into the bodies of people who menstruate! I really think that everyone should have much more information on this topic than we do. The audiobook is read by the author, which is always delightful to learn directly from the source. This was a great listen while going about my boring tasks of the day.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kensington, and Highbridge Audio for the eARC and audioARC of this! I switched back and forth between formats, but definitely favored the audio, the narration was well done.

This was an interesting look at some aspects of menstruation. The author made references to her earlier books, that I think I will need to pick up as well. It wasn’t too dry, but it wasn’t as snarky & conversational as I tend to prefer non-fiction to be.

This book is SO FULL of information. I appreciate the depth of knowledge but it is a very long book. The recaps at the end of each section are incredibly helpful and felt necessary with the amount of information given.

I listened to a NetGalley copy of this audiobook. I knew there were some books about menstruation circulating that I had seen come up and was interested in exploring them.. Although I consider myself a well educated healthcare provider, this book provided much needed insight and information on a "delicate" topic and I immediately has information to help myself. I enjoyed that the book had chapters with subtopics within the main theme of menstruation. You could easily pick and chose topics to reread and reference back to. I will be reading her other two books. I feel more educated and empowered by this book to continue to learn and know more about my body and health and to then be able to further educate those around me.

The narration of this book by the author was excellent, and the content was informative and thorough. Dr. Gunter explains things clearly and helps discuss what is truth and what is myth or fiction in a clear way.

Unfortunately, this read a bit like a text book, and the audio book was just so long. I think may purchase a physical copy of this to have as a reference point, but honestly it was a bit difficult to stay engaged with this content for so long!

Thank you to NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for this ARC!

Full disclaimer here - I actively work as a reproduction and sexual health advocate/family planner, so a lot of this information was not new to me. I was mostly interested to see if this book would be accessible for my patients and if there was anything new I could learn to teach them. With this intention? I liked it a lot. I thought Dr. Gunter's explanations could lean a little more scientific than the average layperson, but not so bad that you couldn't recommend this book to someone outside of the field. The pelvic exam and pap testing portion especially stood out because I find this is where most of my patients have questions. I also liked that Dr. Gunter narrated it herself as it made something that obviously can be very clinical more personal. I definitely would like to get a copy to keep in clinic as a resource for young people to understand their bodies better.

I love books like this!! They are beyond educational and have some humor!

This book has so much needed information on menstruation. I love how it starts by saying you are not alone on this journey. No one should feel like they don’t understand their body and more so, should be able to find information easily.

I love that the author discusses popular myths that are all over social media. How are we ever supposed to know what’s true when you get whiplash online? I think material like this is very helpful to people going through it but also parents and partners.

I have endometriosis and I’ve been on a journey on education the past couple years. Society feels like it has a right to your own body and it is so hard to navigate sometimes.

I’m really grateful to the author for putting all this information together. Thank you to NetGalley, Dr. Jen Gunter, High Bridge Audio and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read Blood. I have written this review voluntarily.

Going into the new year I wanted to read more non fiction. I chose Blood: The Science, Medicine and Mythology of Menstruation because I have always wondered what information is out there and what is true or myth. I consumed this book in audio form and really enjoyed the narrator. It wasn’t dry like a lot of nonfiction I have read, especially with it being medical! I love that a woman wrote this as it seems silly to have most of our knowledge about the female body from men. Would highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to add more non fiction to their repertoire or just wanting to learn more about menstruation!

Dr. Gunter goes over the science of menstruation in a matter of fact way, making it accessible to anyone willing to learn. She tops it with going over the mythology, identifying the history where these stories began and offering evidence and the language people need to counter the insane ideas that exist about menstruation. Dr. Gunter also narrates the audiobook and does a wonderful job. This is the kind of book I will definitely revisit, bookmarking and highlighting, and utilizing it as a teaching tool as my own young daughter ages.

This was my first audiobook on NetGalley and I was so excited! I always try to go into reading a book mostly blind. I didn’t know anything about the author, but was captivated by the cover and intrigued by the description. While I appreciate the discussion brought forth in this book, I really thought it was lacking for an 18 hour book. This also did not feel like an educational book, but more of a sociopolitical statement with facts sprinkled in.

There was way too much talk of Gunter’s own experiences (lest we forget about menstrual diarrhea!) and peddling of birth control pills and SSRIs. Although her own experience is valid and interesting to discuss, it does not sound like a responsible medical professional to make blanket statements about women’s bodies just because it falls in line with your own personal experience. This is ironic because she identifies anyone who’s not a medical doctor as a charlatan. To shut down others that are advocating for women to get to know their bodies better off of birth control and labeling them as akin to “anti-vaxxers” is just asinine. Belittling professionals who have created businesses to empower women just because it’s food based or encourages hormone testing is also its own form of misinformation. There was so much gatekeeping in the name of “science.” In my opinion, Gunter also did a great disservice in the name of mental health. Again, classifying PMS and PMDD as the same thing (they’re not!!) and then identifying big pharma as the solution, despite antidepressants not being more effective than a placebo.

In Blood, Gunter often calls for the erasure of the common language surrounding reproduction. I found this to be very annoying and just unrealistic. Renaming human anatomy because you find things inaccurate or offensive is not a feasible solution. If you can’t accept that a uterus is considered a sex organ, why did you get into reproductive medicine?

I don’t think I found this book as funny as advertised. I also am not a big fan of name dropping to show social klout. I suppose this was encouraged because of Gunter’s “celebrity status” because she has a podcast.

I was looking forward to a more in-depth education about hormones and cycle phases and these were completely skimmed over as if the reader has the same medical school knowledge as the author. Most disappointing, I didn’t feel that I learned anything new related to menstrual health after a pretty big time commitment. I did find the information related to regulation of IUDs interesting though. If you want to read a book with a heavy handed sociopolitical tone, this is for you. If you are looking for a history-based education, look elsewhere.

On a positive note, I did appreciate that this was read by the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for an ARC of this audiobook!