Customer Reviews

Her Blood Is Gold: Celebrating the Power of Menstruation

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

'Her blood is Gold' is a wonderful take on a subject of which, I, like most women, have given little thought to, except for the occasional dispair.

An extremely fast and uncomplicated read, it is essentially an exploration of various misognist treatments of women and their monthly 'curse', and how we as women can come to accept and love with periods, rather than just live with them.

The crux of the work is the idea that women are in the prime of their creativity during menstruation, and thus should take time off to explore this blessing. It also offers helpful monthly rituals and a divinely liberating ode to bellies. Additionally, there is a brief history of menstruation and its link to the goddess.

I was throughly absorbed in this work, however I have a minor issue with the piece. I found it almost a case of reverse sexism, and wondered to myself, when do men get their time off?

Additionally, I felt it played into the hands of prehistorical greek notions of women as 'fevered' and liable to insane outbursts of emotion.

Perhaps I found that where it did not exist, but regardless, I thoughly enjoyed this informative feminist work.

This is a beautiful book which should be read by all women, especially girls beginning their 1st period. Ms. Owen provided me w/ the comforting knowledge that there is more to menstruation than cramps & PMS; there is POWER and history behind the pain & inconvenience. I've learned to use this intuitive power in my daily life, to welcome my period as a special gift and most importantly, to see myself as part of the sisterhood of women.

This was an extraordinary book. I could not put it down. Describing the history of menstruation, a time to be honored, a time to give back to our 'Mother' the earth. I have not been the same since reading it, and will soon be giving my dog-eared copy to my daughter. I have loaned it to every woman I know, and hope it will come back into print so I can get more copies. Goddess knows we need it.

This book is an excellent exploration into the history and meaning of menstruation.

"In many times and in many cultures, menstruation has been seen as sacred and special, but today, reverence has been replaced by silence, ignorance, and PMS jokes." (Quoted from the back cover.)

I highly recommend this book, it looks at the subject of menstruation in a profound new way, that most people would never think of. There is also a large bibliography for anyone who would like read even more about menstruation.

I teach classes on the blood mysteries and Lara Owen's, 'Her Blood is Gold' is the foundation for my work. Lara brings forward information on the magic and richness of menstruation, taking us deeply beneath the layers into what's really happening to us when we bleed. So much has been lost to us in the way of rites of passage for young women, and teachings of how meaningful and powerful our bleeding is. Lara returns much of this to us through her beautifully written book. I cannot recommend this book highly enough - it is truly life changing. I applaud you Lara, for your courage and your wisdom. The circle of wise women is coming back!!
Shonagh Home [...].

I bought this book to replace a loaned copy that wasn't returned, because I definitely want to keep a copy in my personal library - even though I've gone through menopause now.
After I embraced the concepts in this book and began to use them in my life I stopped having difficult periods. I'm not saying that I never had another cramp, but as my body learned to trust that I was going to support it and give it as much rest as I could during my periods, it gave me a little leniency on those times that I felt I really had to be active.
Even though it was sometimes difficult to refuse invitations because I was going to need to rest and be quiet during my periods as much as possible, the payoffs were enormous. After I had established enough trust with my body that I would give it the quiet time it needed, we began to be able to negotiate. In additon to no longer having really bad cramps, I went from having periods lasting up to a week to a mere three days. I also learned to respect the rhythms in nature more, and I became much more intuitive and connected to guidance. I stopped viewing periods as a burden and began to see them as a gift. And when the time came, I went through menopause without even a supplement or doctors visit.

I have truly become a part of something sacred. May someone else be blessed by such a transformation.

I wish this book had been around when I began "the curse"- over 20 years ago. I am grateful to be able to share Ms. Owen's insights with my 13-year old daughter, and maybe start a new family tradition.