Cycles

Features

This book has been chosen by Jessica Lisagor for the 2024 Community Book Initiative as a reflection of the theme, stewardship. All profits from the purchases of this book during the 2024 Community Book Initiative event (running from 5/13/24-6/10/24) benefits local nonprofit Clean Up the Lake. 

About the Book:

About Jessica Lisagor:

Jessica Lisagor lives in Olympic Valley with her beloved husband John Morrison, the amazing Dakota + Kye Morrison, and their Red dog. She loves chasing them all around the mountains, except for Red because he is a herding dog. Jessica has spent time away from the mountains to study art and architecture, but can’t stay away for long. She is downhill motivated in the mountains, but alas probably better at the uphill. As she ages, she embraces different aspects of mountain sport including community, family, technical challenge, mindfulness, alignment, and aesthetics. She is currently healing an injury to her left knee, and finding more time and joy in reading.

Why Jessica Chose This Book:

I felt timid about this book, and it sat on my nightstand unopened for weeks. A good nudge from a friend helped me drop in. The author Amy J Hammer addresses that resistance I noticed in myself in her book. Growing up without a book like this, and surrounded by negative advertising and cultural views, my own body and period shame grew. In her book, Hammer provides the tools to examine the scientific, political, philosophical, and cultural forces behind our perception of periods. Looking at women’s cycles through these different lenses, she foments rebellion against the negative social media/pseudo science views of periods while offering soothing comfort through personal anecdotes and recipes. The way Hammer combines personal, academic, and professional insight is unique and generous.

The other reason I shied away from Cycles was my lack of enthusiasm for the self-help genre. Once past the cover, this book goes way beyond the self. Hammer intertwines self care with family, community, and planet care, opening up space for progressive action. For example, Hammer discusses the way that menstrual shaming is related to body shame and sexuality. Referencing a 2005 study in the Journal of Sex Research, “The authors hypothesized that since girls often learn about menstruation and sex at the same time-at home and/or in health class-their attitudes about both are connected and affect sexual decision-making. They found the menstrual cycle shame is associated with sexual decision-making via body shame. Cis women who reported feeling more menstrual cycle shame were more likely to be less sexually active, but take more sexual risks, whereas those who reported more comfort with menstruation were also more comfortable inter bodies, more sexually assertive, and sexually experienced, but they took less sexual risks. Therefore, reducing menstrual shame has the capacity to improve overall body images and positively support sexual agency” (p. 193-194). Hammer points out that when we feel positive about our bodies, we are more likely to feel positive about other people’s bodies, no matter the gender. 

Through the graphics and the structure of this book, Hammer weaves together monthly, yearly, lifelong, and multigenerational loops. It’s powerful and positive to see periods as part of a larger temporal framework, instead of just one part of a cycle or a life or a body. Not only am I grateful to have read this book, I feel that I can read it again and again.