Books

The Pill: are you sure it's for you?
Jane Bennett and Alexandra Pope (Allen and Unwin)

Now on sale in all good book shops and also available from allenandunwin.com.

Written in a gentle, engaging style and full of real women's stories, our aim is to give women true informed choice about chemical contraception including the Pill, implants, injections, patches, vaginal rings and IUDs.

In The Pill we explore:

• side effects such as depression and mood disorders, loss of libido, headaches and migraine, weight gain, increased risk of breast cancer and brittle bones
• alternatives to chemical contraception that don't harm your health or fertility
• natural ways to heal menstrual problems rather than masking these with the Pill
• the fallout of the Pill in relationships (and the health of future children) and conversely how the menstrual cycle can be an ally to deepen your connection and sexual intimacy
• the radical idea that having a menstrual cycle is really cool and can even be empowering, and, once experienced in this way is something you wouldn't dream of eliminating with synthetic hormones.
  

7 great reasons to buy The Pill: are you sure it's for you?

1. You're a fertile woman needing reliable contraception that doesn't compromise your health and sexuality.
2. You're a man who wants to share in the responsibility of contraception.
3. You're suffering from menstrual and /or skin problems and want to know how to heal them naturally
4. You're a parent of a teenage daughter wanting to support her in her contraceptive needs as she moves toward a sexual relationship and want to fully understand the health implications (many side-effects are of particular concern for teenagers)
5. You're a health practitioner and want comprehensive information on contraception and to learn more about womens' health.
6. You're a counsellor/psychotherapist/psychologist and need to understand the impact of the Pill on womens' psychological wellbeing
7. You want to learn about period power, how to leverage it for success and how the female body is designed for ecstasy.

The Woman’s Quest - unfolding women’s path of power and wisdom. A 13 session self-guiding course.

Discover, reclaim and deepen into the amazing spiritual resources of your cyclical body. Revel in the blessings that come from connection to female paths to power and wisdom.

Taking you on a journey of revelation, love, healing, power and wisdom gathering, The Woman’s Quest will guide you to:

• Experience greater personal authority and sense of meaning
• Heighten your intuitive and psychic ability
• Clarify your calling and connection to the World
• Feel the grace of inspiration and renewal
• Enter a greater sense of oneness and beauty
• Feel more anchored in your own inner guidance system
• Experience a delicious affirmation of yourself as a woman
• Deepen trust in life
• Enjoy natural ecstatic states
• And, for those of you who suffer with menstrual problems, healing.

Embodying cyclical consciousness and the power of the feminine, this is an intelligent and creative 13 menstrual month spiritual journey in which the individual and the world are intimately interwoven.

To find out more about The Woman’s Quest click here to receive The Introduction for free.

The Woman’s Quest costs AU$19.95.
Click the following links to purchase The Woman’s Quest in an electronic version (PDF file) or a hard copy.

[Jump to top of page]    

The Wild Genie: The Healing Power of Menstruation
(Sally Milner Publishing, 2001)

The Wild Genie presents a unique approach to menstruation that moves beyond biology to restore a dignity and deeper meaning to a woman's cyclical nature. It is a book for all women in their menstruating years who want to deepen their knowledge of, and relationship, to the cycle, and learn how to harvest the power and wisdom. Based on this empowering model, The Wild Genie is a also a self care guide for parents wanting to pass on a positive experience of menstruation to their daughters, and for men to help them gain an insight into the world of women.

To order The Wild Genie click here

To read reviews of The Wild Genie click here
     

Reviews - The Wild Genie
"...a courageous book...[that] is set to change the way a woman's menstrual cycle is viewed in Western society. Pope's vantage point has such resonance and potency as to be life-changing"
- Ruth Ostrow, The Weekend Australian

"The Wild Genie...is an interesting read for women (and their partners) in distress."
- Dr James Wright, The Sunday Telegraph

"This book...perform[s] the magic of re-framing not only menstruation but women's experience of their bodies and lives. Alexandra Pope presents an affirming, rich and poetic view of an area of our lives all too often ignored, disliked or pathologised...this author writes with clarity and gentleness, demonstrating with stories how attention to the rhythms of women's lives and working with menstrual problems can lead to increased self knowledge, esteem, sensitivity and strength...a valuable present for any women and a worthwhile read for our partners. We could all benefit by learning more about the wild genie which inhabits our lives."
- Jane Hall, Diversity magazine

"In The Wild Genie Alexandra Pope weaves her personal story, numerous case studies, and a wealth of practical knowledge into a seamless cloth of menstrual wisdom. I highly recommend this book as a source of thoughtful insight into the power of our menstrual experience."
- Lara Owen, author of Her Blood Is Gold and Honouring Menstruation.

"... a delightful conjunction of common sense and poetry. Alexandra's own experiences of the imaginative power of the Wild Genie have loosened her tongue and given birth to some rich and creative prose. I'm sure many others will respond with gratitude to her ability to put into words innate truths that are waiting to be spoken. This book is destined to become a classic."
- Francesca Naish, author of a number of books including Natural Fertility.

"This is one of those rare books that if read with the right intent will gently but persuasively change your life forever. [Pope] weaves ... individual stories into a wider cultural experience, revealing the great hidden power and meaning of menstruation ... this is the first book of its kind to consider a holistic body/mind/soul/spirit approach to healing. There is a personal courage and frankness in this writing and Pope's own experience of severe menstrual pain and her path to healing is an inspiration.

"It strikes me that many women - modern, feminist, self-aware women - still deny the power and meaning of their feminine cycle. This book highlights the ways that culture is literally written in the body and shows us how notions of linear time, rationality, competition versus co-operation are challenged by the beauty and strength of the menstrual cycle."
- Dr Anna Cole, Department of Anthropology, Goldsmiths College, University of London, amazon.com

"I strongly recommend this book to all therapists, and particularly men who often really and truthfully have little knowledge about what happens to women experientially during their menstrual cycle...Using this book with clients by tasking them to read it at home will save a great deal of time and explaining within the clinical environment and [will] allow those clients to have much more efficacy in their own development...This is a very informative and enjoyable book, which celebrates the positive experience of menstruation."
- Dr Tracie O'Keefe DCH, Professor of Sex, Gender & Sexuality, Calamus International University, Hypnosis Australia magazine

[Jump to top of page]    

Walking with the Genie: The Modern Woman's Menstrual Health Kit (self published, 2001)

It's hard to feel good about your cycle if you're suffering in an extreme way each month. Yet, as you take small steps and have success, you will then feel more able to enter the psychologically and spiritually rich story that the whole cycle offers.

Walking with the Genie is an ideal self care guide for those of you who are just starting out on the journey of healing and possibly feel overwhelmed by the idea of menstruation as a Good Thing. The easy to follow information is given in point form and tables. It includes the practical guidelines that appear in my book The Wild Genie as well as a handy checklist for the different types of menstrual problems including PMS, endometriosis and heavy bleeding.

An excellent companion to The Wild Genie, it also stands alone as a guide for creating menstrual well being. Health practitioners will also find it a useful resource to offer their clients.

Topics covered:

Discovering the power of self care
Those wayward hormones
Some great natural medicines
Healthy spaces
The joy of good food
More ways to pamper yourself
Check list for sufferers

To order Walking with the Genie click here

     
Reviews - Walking with the Genie
"Walking with the Genie is a short booklet packed with recipes and tips, a handy ready reckoner for all women wanting to maintain overall wellbeing."
The Lamp, the Nursing Association of NSW magazine.

"The health kit is just the right size to slip into a handbag for easy reference during the day"
- Jane Hall, Diversity magazine

[Jump to top of page]