It's My Body. PERIOD.: An Introduction to Menstruation - Paperback

Puberty is a confusing, exciting and straight up weird time for any young person. The experience is even more magnified if that person is a girl. In addition to the constant changes in the body, the hormones running through the veins and all the external pressures that come with growing up, she also has to deal with menstruation. Unfortunately, so many girls are not properly equipped with the tools they need to navigate this time and they are left to figure out most of it on their own. For many young Caribbean girls, the basic orientation they get when their period starts is a trip to the store to purchase pads or tampons, some over the counter pain killers for the cramps and a stern warning not to get pregnant. Everything else, she has to figure out - from the moods swings to bloating. On top of all the changes and foreign experiences that she's having, she has to learn how to keep it all to herself. This is the story of Shelly-Ann, a young Jamaican girl and her journey to discover herself as she experiences one of nature's most important rites of passage - her period.