Honoring Our Cycles: A Natural Family Planning Workbook [Paperback]

Katie Singer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 2006

In clear, everyday language, Honoring Our Cycles describes what happens during a menstrual cycle and how a baby is conceived. It explains how to chart the body's fertility signs to know which days are best for becoming pregnant or avoiding becoming pregnant, without the use of hormonal drugs. Includes dietary advice for successful conception and healthy babies and families.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Buy this brilliant book right now. Give it to your best friend. . .Every woman will benefit from Katie Singer's work. (Susun Weed, Herbalist )

If you think natural family planning is complicated, read this book—and be surprised and delighted! (Melissa Chianta, Managing Editor, Mothering Magazine )

About the Author

KATIE SINGER's novel The Wholeness of a Broken Heart, was a selectino of Barnes & Noble's Discover Great New Writers Program and has been translated into several languages. She is also the author of The Garden of Fertility. Her websites are www.katiesinger.com and www.gardenoffertility.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Newtrends Publishing, Inc. (August 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096708976X
• ISBN-13: 978-0967089768
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.2 x 10.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Katie Singer is a writer and certified fertility educator. Since 1997, she has taught Fertility Awareness to health care professionals and women and couples from their teens on up. Her book, The Garden of Fertility, was published by Avery/Penguin in 2004. Her writing about Fertility Awareness has also been published in Alternative Therapies; Mothering; and Wise Traditions.

Singer's novel, The Wholeness of a Broken Heart (Riverhead/Penguin), explores themes of fertility through four generations of Jewish mothers and daughters. The book was a selection of Barnes & Noble's Discover Great New Writers Program and has been translated into three languages. For more information about the novel, please visit www.KatieSinger.com.

Katie is currently working on a new novel and essays about fertility and ecology.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE EASIEST WAY TO LEARN AND PRACTICE NFP/FAM! June 26, 2007

By Katherine E. Caldera

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have read "Natural Family Planning" and "Taking Charge of your Fertility" and have practiced NFP/FAM (fertility awareness method) for a while now. I bought this mostly so I wouldn't have to print and bind my own charts anymore because this one comes ready to use and is small and thin like a workbook. I am very pleased with the charts- they are the easiest to use of all the ones I've tried.

What surprised me was the incredible job the author has done of teaching the method in a very concise and easy to understand manner. I can't emphasize enough how much easier it is to learn how to chart to prevent or to plan a pregnancy with this book than with other books.

Most exciting to me was the way the author teaches how to use NFP while breast feeding. The other books make it so complicated and when I did finally think I de-coded what they meant, it didn't work for me because my mucus was too eratic while nursing to use their methods. But, Singer does an excellent job in this book explaining how to use NFP while nursing a baby and she does it in under one page! She makes perfect sense and her method is much, much easier to use and is actually doable.

Awesome, awesome book!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gentle Encouragement, Firm Confidence February 26, 2008

By Lynn M. Griesemer

Format:Paperback

Katie Singer shares her plethora of knowledge in HONORING OUR CYCLES: A NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING WORKBOOK FOR KNOWING WHICH DAYS YOU CAN AND CAN'T GET PREGNANT.

I've been practicing Natural Family Planning (NFP) with success for several years and I know that many women hesitate to embrace NFP or Fertility Awareness because they are afraid to trust the method. With her gentle encouragement and ease of communication, Singer's confidence in the accuracy of fertility awareness transfers to the readers - at least it did for me.

It's very important to gain confidence in NFP if you are going to rely upon it. The examples helped clarify various issues and scenarios. I also learned a new technique by reading this book: the "coverline."

The cover design is so enticing that my teenage daughters were intrigued with HONORING OUR CYCLES. I highly recommend this book.

-Lynn M. Griesemer, Author of YOUR BODY, YOUR BIRTH: SECRETS FOR A SATISFYING AND SUCCESSFUL BIRTH

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Info November 7, 2009

By Leia45

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Husband and I are between child 1 & 2 and decided that birth control prescriptions are not the answer. I consistanly gained weight on these, so I checked with my OB/GYN and she refered me to this book...great info, simple techniques for observations of cycle changes and great worksheets to help plot your info month to month. When we are ready for #2, we'll be bc free and on track to plan our future family.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Beginners! July 13, 2010

By Brown Eyes

Format:Paperback

This is a great book for a woman to read when she's just starting to track her cycle. I'm only 19 and decided to use the form for birth control before I get married next fall. I was relieved to find it's very simple to understand. I've read other books on this subject, and they had me so confused I was afraid I'd never be able to use this for a safe form of birth control. The author explains every step of tracking one at a time. She explains one step thoroughly and moves on to the next one, so you don't get overwhelmed. There are also several examples for each step and illustrations of the way to mark the signs on a fertility chart. The 14 charts in the back are very nice and convenient; I was happy I was able to put my new knowledge to use right away. I've read two other book about natural family planning, and this is definitely the best of all three. I would highly recommend this to anyone who's is just beginning to chart and/or for anyone who is confused about charting.

I've also read and would recommend "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". I would recommend this book because it has A LOT of information, but at the same time all that information can be overwhelming for beginners. The book is 500+ pages and is useful, but I found it to be a bit intimidating. The instructions for acknowledging and charting your fertility signs are not as clear as it is in "Honoring Our Cycles". "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" does have more information about women's health, the male reproductive system and history of natural family planning, but I found it was a bit hard to actually learn how to chart my fertility using this book. It also doesn't come with any charts, but I would recommend buying both of these books together.... Just read this book first so you have some understanding of the subject before you dive into the 500+ pages of useful info.

The other book I bought used, and I'm glad I didn't pay the retail price. "The Art of Natural Family Planning" did have the same useful information, but I found it to be dreadfully boring. It reads more like a text book (it may be lol). The author also includes a lot of his Catholic beliefs. I don't have a problem with religion (although I'm not Catholic and disagreed with a lot of his opinions), but he should've been more concerned about clearly explaining the process of charting than stating his beliefs. Read more ›

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Simple, Clear Information October 12, 2007

By Molly Remer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book was a very quick and simple read--I think that is one of the book's main strengths, it is written in very clear, basic English (maybe a sixth grade reading level?). However, it also makes it somewhat stilted or somehow "off" to read it though because it IS so simplistically written (makes you feel like you are none-too-bright or something! LOL!). Anyway, to be totally honest, one of the only reasons I wanted this book is because I'm so enraptured by the cover. I just love it. I think it is a beautiful, wonderful book cover.

The book is about using fertility awareness to avoid or promote pregnancy The book is clear and easy to follow. It contains some inaccurate breastfeeding information, which I'm very sensitive to--including such odd comments as, "sometimes, when a mother is away from her baby for an afternoon or more, her milk dries up." Huh?! This is where the overly simplistic approach does not succeed, because it is NOT correct (in this case).

I'm very interested and excited right now by fertility awareness--how coolly and magically women's bodies indicate where they are in their fertility cycle. I am regretful that I spend so many years hormonally manipulating my cycle rather than just paying attention to my own body (which clearly communicates with me). so, this book reinforced this "magic-ness." I guess I would recommend it to others. There is a certain "spark" missing because it is so basic (I think it is designed for use with low-literacy populations). That gorgeous cover makes up for a lot though! ;-)

Part of this review was originally posted to my blog, [...]