Book Review: A Women's Book of Life: the biology, psychology, and spirituality of the feminine life cycle

In her book, A Women's Book of Life: the biology, psychology, and spirituality of the feminine life cycle, Dr. Joan Borysenko examines the changes that women go through in each seven-year cycle; years 0-7, 7-14, 14-21, etc.  She identifies the special character of a woman's holistic experience in each period.   Other books on this topic limit themselves to the physical changes that the body goes through at different times but this book does an excellent job of putting a woman's life in a larger perspective.   Perhaps what makes this book so readable is the author's reliance on client stories, fairy tales and literature to explore society's attitudes toward women and their perception of themselves.

For instance, in the seven to fourteen year period she describes the loss of self that girls experience as they attempt to conform to the standards that are set by others.   In a section called "The Power to Be or the Power to Please" she uses the metaphor of Snow White falling asleep to represent the loss of the authentic self in adolescence.   The fairy tale later has the handsome prince wakening Snow White to another life--but one in which her authentic self is still submerged.

Perhaps more interesting sections for the readers of this article are the chapters on menstruation, pregnancy and menopause.

Regarding menstruation, she compares the views of the Roman historian, Pliny the Elder, that, "[a menstruating woman will] dim the brightness of mirrors, blunt the edge of steel and take away the polish from ivory." to that of native Americans who believed that a menstruating woman had expanded connections with the energies of the universe--The Great Mystery.   Women who had dreams during their menses were asked to share their dreams with the tribal elders so the men could benefit from them.

Her explanation of women in early adulthood--the process of attracting and being attracted to men, the psychology of mating and giving birth, and the "psycho-biological gifts" that allow a mother to bond with her infant, is handled beautifully.   She writes against the excessive medicalization of pregnancy and of the birthing process; that doing so damages the spiritual dimension that is so important to a woman's, and her child's, complete experience.

Conversations about menopause usually focus on hot flashes.   One rarely hears or reads about the positive aspects of this almost universal experience of women going through "the change." Borysenko develops the idea that the hot flashes are the resurgence of a woman's authentic self.   According to her, menopause is a time for women to reevaluate who they are in relation to their husbands, their children, their careers or hobbies, and to themselves.   This is not a time to medicate oneself or criticize oneself so as to return their body and personality to a time when their authentic self was submerged.   Rather it is:

" . . . a period of transition, while it involves considerable reflection, is not necessarily a crisis.  It is a developmental stage rather than a psychological emergency and for emotionally healthy women it is not a time of crazed acting out, driven by fears of being over the hill.  It is a time of calculated, rational action. . . I consider menopause a second puberty, an initiation into what can be the most powerful, exciting, and fulfilling half of a woman's life."

For some women, menopause is a time of increased sexuality now that they’re freed from the fears of pregnancy and the inconvenience of menses.   For others, it is a time for fulfilling other goals that were submerged during the years of sexual activity and child-raising.   She writes of the emergence of a legitimate male self—more assertive and how women can use this new energy to find their true selves.

An interesting physiological change after menopause is the change in two hormones FSH and LH which are elevated in young women only at ovulation.   In menopausal women these hormones can have very high levels—and they stay high.   Gynecologist Christine Northrup refers to these as “hormones of wisdom”; they are associated with intuition.

She discusses many other physical, psychological and spiritual aspects of the midlife transition that would be lost in any attempt to paraphrase or excerpt.   It's best for the reader to find their own copy of this enlightening book.  

The book is available on amazon.com and your local bookseller.