This is a dynamite book, not just for girls just learning about menstruation, but for women looking to see what kinds of experience other women had when they encountered this particular step toward adulthood. It's also a good book for those who want to see a new face of a favorite author: Rachel got writers like Erica Jong, Gloria Steinem, Cecily von Zeigesar, Meg Cabot, and, um, me to contribute. There are stories from all over the world and over the last seventy years, showing how times and attitudes change.

Rachel worked to bring this project to completion for years, and I was so thrilled when the book finally came out. Give it to a friend for her birthdays, bridal, or baby shower. Give it to a mom who helped you through those first strange days, or the girlfriend who gave you a better way to look at it. Give it to a guy who's just moved in with his first girlfriend, or a young father with his first daughter. Take the last shame off our periods!