By Rachel Kauder Nalebuff

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Twelve (February 26, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446546364
ISBN-13: 978-0446546362

From the Publishers Website: "MY LITTLE RED BOOK is an anthology of stories about first periods, collected from women of all ages from around the world. The accounts range from light-hearted (the editor got hers while water skiing in a yellow bathing suit) to heart-stopping (a first period discovered just as one girl was about to be strip-searched by the Nazis). The contributors include well-known women writers (Meg Cabot, Erica Jong, Gloria Steinem, Cecily von Ziegesar), alongside today’s teens. And while the authors differ in race, faith, or cultural background, their stories share a common bond: they are all accessible, deeply honest, and highly informative. Whatever a girl experiences or expects, she’ll find stories that speak to her thoughts and feelings.

Ultimately, MY LITTLE RED BOOK is more than a collection of stories. It is a call for a change in attitude, for a new way of seeing periods. In a time when the taboo around menstruation seems to be one of the few left standing, it makes a difficult subject easier to talk about, and helps girls feel proud instead of embarrassed or ashamed. By revealing what it feels like to undergo this experience first hand, and giving women the chance to explain their feelings in their own words, it aims to provide support, entertainment, and a starting point for discussion for mothers and daughters everywhere. It is a book every girl should have. Period."

When I heard about this book I knew that I had to read and review it! First of all it’s the perfect title for the book because it’s about women’s first period experiences. This book is simply fabulous! It’s smart and sassy and a breath of fresh air. A collection of stories from women in all walks of life, from all over the place and from different eras. We all share one common experience - our first period. You’ll find yourself laughing out loud and tearing up all through this book. What a wonderful celebration of being a woman. In this book we can find unity. We have all experienced this day - and I found in the reading that we all have so much in common. In reading this book I was really reminded of so much, This book is something every woman should read...instead of seeing how different we are you’ll see how very alike the experience of being a woman is.

This book is just fun! I’d also recommend this for all girls who are just starting on this wonderful journey known as menses. How great it would have been to know that we weren’t alone and that this stuff happens to everyone.

RACHEL KAUDER NALEBUFF is an otherwise normal 18-year old, who ended up writing about periods. She is the editor of My Little Red Book, an anthology of first-period stories from women of all ages and all around the world. A recent graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall, Rachel is on a gap year before enrolling at Yale University. After many summers living and working in China, she can speak, even rap, in Chinese. She is also fluent in French and Spanish, and is working on Portuguese. During her gap year, she studied at Catholic University in Rio, earned a degree in Patisserie at the Cordon Bleu (Paris), and volunteered with the NGO Seva Mandir in Udaipur (India) working on a project collecting stories from widows about their struggle to live independently despite the odds.

In her free time, she plays ukulele, rides/falls off her unicycle, and indulges in late-night pie baking with friends. Her reading tastes range from Tropic of Cancer and The God of Small Things to Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts. She is donating all the proceeds that she receives from sales of My Little Red Book to charities promoting women's health and education so that the book may benefit girls beyond its readers. In India, some of these funds support Seva Mandir. Other funds are targeted towards the Health and Water Foundation in Kenya, where a lack of sanitary supplies often forces girls to stay home from school during their periods, thereby depriving them of almost a quarter of their rightful education. Here in the US, Real Life / Real Talk, Girls Inc., and Choice USA are the primary beneficiaries.

Celebrate National Women’s History Month by picking up your copy and even better, pick a copy up for all the women in your life. They’ll thank you for it!

Now for the really fun part. I have 5 copies of this book to giveaway, courtesy of Anna at Hachette Book Group, USA. Usual rules apply: Must have US or Canadian address and no P.O. boxes. Sorry...publishers rules not mine

Leave me a comment and make sure you leave me an email addy to contact you when you win. Contest ends 3/20/09

Little Red Book website: http://www.mylittleredbook.net/

Get to know Rachel a little better in this "12 Questions" interview.

See Rachel at these upcoming events:

March 5 Madison, CT — RJ Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Rd, 7pm
March 6 New York, NY — The Trinity School, 139 West 91st St
March 8 Trumbull, CT — The Trumbull Library, 1718 Huntington Tpke, 2pm
March 9 Guilford, CT—The Guilford Library, 67 Park St
March 23 Clinton, CT — "Girls’ Night" at The Henry Carter Hull Library, 10 Killingworth Tpke, 6pm

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