Women's Health Books

You don't need to be planning to get pregnant to read this. I wish I had read this in my 20's, but was so happy that I did a few months before I started trying. This method can be used for birth control and just to understand your body better. You will be happy to have this information for so many reasons and so happy that you starting thinking about your body (not just your fertility). I would recommend it to anyone 18+, and wish there was a version for younger women with all the meaningful information about your body and cycle.

My husband and I are planning to get pregnant in the next few months. I have always thought when I wanted to get pregnant I would simply go off the pill, begin ovulating two-weeks later, have intercourse, and voila! This book made me realize I might have spent months or years trying to conceive with that plan or I may have incorrectly believed I was infertile. If your goal is to get pregnant as soon as you start trying, READ THIS BOOK!

Great book, I have never had fertility problems, but I did buy and read this before conceiving my second child and we conceived the first time we tried. I am now very aware of my cycle and when I am ovulating.

This book is a wonderful resource for all women. I wish that I had known about this book ten years ago, but I am happy that I found it now that my husband and I are trying to get pregnant. I am amazed at the things that I didn't know about my own body before reading this book. Thank you Toni for giving us the information we REALLY need!

I bought this book upon the recommendation of a couple friends who knew I was interested in natural family planning. The book is divided into sections so you can read the parts that most interest you. There is a separate chapter for fertility awareness as birth control, with four easy to understand rules. I have been following the method for birth control for over a month and love it. I would recommend it to everyone willing to put in a little work. Consistency is important for charting, but the time commitment is about 3 minutes a day.

I haven't used the book for pregnancy achievement, but will when that time comes.

This is a great book! It touches on important subjects in a gentle yet informative manner. My daughter is soon to be 10 and we are reading it together. I wish I had this book when I was growing up!!

I got this book along with the two feelings book from American Girl for my 12 years old step daughter and she loved it...Her mom really hasn't sat down with her to discuss her body changes and the importance of how things will not happen over night...we found it helpful to let her read it first and then come to us with any questions...she found the book especially helpful for her upcoming braces and how to care for them, she takes it every where with her...THANKS AMERICAN GIRL this book is great!!!

The Care & Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls (American Girl Library)
The best guide I have ever seen in helping explain the facts of life! Made having "the talk" much easier. Excellent examples of problems girls face. Does not just explain the changes in the body, but changes in perception, peer pressure, even what size of pads to buy. Covers all the changes they go through, hair, shaving, diet, self perception, and sleep. My daughter has read it actively for the last three nights, which has opened the door to a great conversation on all the ways her body and life will change with puberty. I wish my mom had it!

THIS BOOK IS TRULY A PARENT'S LITTLE HELPER! I GAVE IT TO MY 10 YEAR OLD TO HELP EXPLAIN HER PERIOD.(YES, SHES ONLY 10. AND YES SHE JUST GOT HER PERIOD!)
THAT BOOK HAD AN ANSWER FOR EVERY QUESTION MY CHILD ASKED.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, "AMERICAN GIRL!" YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER!!

Initially picked this up at the library to introduce my 8 1/2 year old daughter to the subject of her developing body. She read it cover to cover several times and we needed to buy it because she wanted to be able to use it as a reference book! This was the easiest way to introduce the subject and initiated hours of conversation between us. Highly recommended!

This is such a great book to keep you calm when worried, informed when ignorant, and practical when overwhelmed. It is divided into four sections a month by month look at pregnancy, a decision guide to all the main thing you need to worry about health wise, a general reference guide for any doubts that might arise from dyeing your hair to headaches and the last is about complications. It's nice to have a book that includes possible complications, but that leaves it at the end so you don't worry more than you need to.

This was my main resource book throughout my entire pregnancy and I highly recommend it.

After consulting with girlfriends and getting the books they recommended, I still didn't feel like I had enough information. I purchased the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy, and haven't consulted another book since. I appreciate the clinical approach to pregnancy, especially when describing fetal development, body changes and procedures such as prenatal testing. It is an excellent reference book for pregnancy and the early months of life with baby. I only wish they would revise it to keep up with changes such as new protocols for prenatal screening. For example, it mentions nuchal translucency measurement as somewhat experimental, though when combined with maternal blood tests for free Beta hcg and PAPP-A, along with nasal bone measurement (none of which are mentioned), it is an excellent screening tool. I highly recommend this to prospective parents who want the medical low-down, presented with tenderness when appropriate but without the irrelevant fluff.

This book is fantastic. It is well organized and easy to reference. It's also well written with a professional tone that never veers toward alarmist or condescending. The book does a great job of telling you what is normal and what is not and has an easy to read charts. I found everything in this book to be relatively unbiased and normal pregnancy, as well as complications are explained in full. The only drawback for me is that I personally would like more of an emphasis on natural childbirth rather than seeing it be presented on par with interventionist procedures. That being said, it is an excellent book and I am thrilled to have it to guide me through my first pregnancy.

I am a first time mom and also a family practitioner and this book has been better than my medical school and residency training combined for practical knowledge! It is especially helpful for the "constant worrier" in its algorithms for telling you when to act on your concerns. It is also a great resource for someone who is just curious about what is developing in your baby week by week. I plan on recommending this to my pregnant patients!

I am expecting my first baby in July and purchased this book because I plan to breast feed & am doing as much research as possible on everything long before baby comes home. So far, I have only read the introduction & first chapter, which is applicable to someone months away from giving birth.
I agree with other reviewers that the author is definitely biased towards breast-feeding, but, duh! Why would the "Nursing Mother's Companion" encourage bottle feeding formula, especially when it has been proven time & time again that nursing is best for baby AND mother?
I would recommend this book to any of my friends considering nursing.

Of all the nursing books out there, I am so glad that I picked (and I bought it because of the reviews!) this one. There is some really good advice for first time mothers and it was easy to read. I could read it quickly when I needed late night or early morning help. I am now going to buy this book for every baby shower that I go to!!

Thinking about breastfeeding, or determined to breastfeed? Buy this book to learn the benefits and ins and outs of this natural feeding method! Great knowledge and an easy read!

I purchased this book, because I heard that about 80% of women actually struggle at least a bit with breastfeeding. I wanted to make sure that I was ready for any complications and issues that might arise and was informed as to how to correct them ahead of time. There is a lot of fantastic information in this book. I would definitely recommend reading the book BEFORE you have the baby and have to suddenly breastfeed within an hour or so--especially if there are any issues. That way you'll be more prepared as to various things to try to solve any problems rather than becoming overly stressed and giving up too soon.

While this book provides useful tips and encouragements for nursing moms, I found the author quite single minded on what is the right way to feed the baby and not always clear on what's her personal opinion vs. what's well adopted or proven. My advice is that this is a book worth reading, but don't use it as the only guidance for feeding your child.

If you don't want a child who stays in your bed for a long long time or who grows up to believe crying is the way to get attention and whatever she wants whenever she wants it, and if you'd like to bring a happy kid into your life rather than turning yours upside down, go read other books and get second opinions elsewhere.

Small steps was an enjoyable book and i would definatley recommend it to all of my friends. During this story, a polio patient named Peg, changes, not facial or look wise but mentally. At first she would worry about winning first in something however when she gets diagnosed with polio those worries change. Now she worries about whether she'll make it or not, and she realizes how lucky she really was without the polio. One of my favorite things abobut peg is that she can always take a sad thing and make it better, such as whenshe needs a wheelchair, instead of outing she learns how to wheelie on it! there is one thing i would warn you about; there isnt a lto of dialoge. If you love dialoge and cant get enough of it, then you are just like me! I dont really like books without dialoge. however, when i read this book I realized it has enough dialoge to keep me coming back for more. Although i really like the way it was written too. When in saw that this was a biography, i hesitated to pick it up. But when i started to read, i realized that this wasnt one of the ordinary boring biographies, but a biography written in fictioin form! Also, if your looking for a book written by the author then that is anothter reasen for you to, go out and get this book. Small steps is written in frist person. The plpot of this book is very easy to follow now read carefully; a 12 year old girl named peg is diagnosed with polio, and is taken to many different hospitals. While she is being transfered, she is fighting with all of her gut to kick this polio out of her system. That is as far as i am going with that.
Wait there is more, if you are also not a fan of long expositions; this book is probably the best one or you. Tyeh exposition is npt long at all. It simply describes where Peg lives how old she is and what she like sto do, and then the action starts.

p.s. if you are going to read this book i hope you enjoyed it as much as i did!

My daughter, age 9, was assigned to read this book as part of a Reading Olympics program in her school. I found it at the library and read the first chapter to her while we were still in the library. She did not want me to stop reading. We read it together every night after she had finished her homework. She was so fascinated with Peg Kehret's story that she would work hard to finish her homework in order to leave time for reading before bed. I highly recommend this book for older elementary and middle school age children. The author offers a very engaging glimpse of her experience as a child their age going through an enormously difficult and challenging ordeal. Her courage and humor in the face of her disease will give children insight into coping skills they can use someday.

This book is a must if you are looking for a book for your Mother/Daugther book club. We read it when our daughters were 10 yrs. old, but you could certainly be older. All the moms loved it.

I loved this book! It is about a girl named Peg who is stricken with Polio. My fav. part was when her temperature dropped by drinking the chocolate milkshake. I would recommend this book for anyone!

This book was certainly good but it sounded as if a child was telling. It really didn't describe things very well and it jumped to fast. It was a good story but it wasn't set up totally right. I liked it though and I think you will too. I was required to read this in 6th grade and I read it ahead of the class because I couldn't put the book down because the story was interesting and...touching. I wish it would have explained what she did when she went to school and what her friend's reaction were. I usually don't read books like this and actually like it though.

excellent service. book received in excellent condition, just as described. would definitely order through bookrescue again.

As the father of an 8 year old daughter with CF (who even sorta looks like Alex), you can imagine that this is not an easy read for me. I read it once 8 years ago, when she was diagnosed, and it was bad....I have tried to re-read it again 8 years later and it's even harder to get through. Not a day goes by where I don't think about that I most likely will have to go thru what Frank did.
I"m not sure i'll be able to handle it. My optimism that there will be a cure in time has dwindled to stark reality that it's not likely to happen soon enough. Thank you Frank for writing this, at least I know i'm not alone.

After supporting Cystic Fibrosis as one of my personal charities for many years, I saw this book in a used book store and bought it. I didn't read it for some time. In fact, it was after I met a family who had a son with CF. I became friends with him - and only a few months later, close to his 21st birthday, he was gone. Then I read the book.. I must say, this is a heartbreaker - but Alex is such an amazing young girl! Written from the experiences of a father watching this terrible disease take his little girl. I strongly recommend reading - and then reaching out to your local Cystic Fibrosis Chapter.

i bought this book because my best friend also had lost her life struggling with cf at the young age of 19.i always knew what cf was but never new how life threating it really was.this book was touching and reminded me of my memories with phylicia (1986-2005) she lived life in such a fullfilling way.she qouted in her year book her senior yr of high school one year before she passed "living life as if you are dying is never acually living at all".this book was very touching and i hope other people get a chance to read this book also.

My daughter was diagnosed with CF 4 months ago at the age of 2.5 yrs. I was immediately drawn to books written from the parent perspective (it seems most are written by young adults who have it), and I first read "From a Taste of Salt" and then "Alex".

I mostly loved this book; I love how well Deford delves into the psychological aspects (of ALL the family) of having a child in the house with this disease. I can easily picture in my dealings with my own daughter many of the conversations with Alex he relates.

There are two things I disliked. One is that he really over-makes Alex to be a saint. Everyone says my daughter is so sweet and so good at taking her medicines and therapy and yadda yadda, but would you ever say the OPPOSITE to a parent with a sick child? My daughter is still a toddler and no saint, but Deford leaves out most of the day-to-day "normal" parts of her life that would show her regular humanity instead of her sainthood.

Secondly, It became obvious at times that Deford was, unfortunately, projecting some of his own thoughts, feelings, and memories onto Alex's actions. I do not blame him for this one bit, considering the great devistation it is to lose a child and then try to write about it. But for some reason it really annoyed me.

Overall an excellent book, and I recommend it to any parent with a newly diagnosed child struggling through the emotional and psychological steps of accepting CF. You find out that you are not alone in your many confusing thoughts. I only wish he had perhaps been a more religious man, and touched on the acceptance of this disease from God.

The best book on bodybuilding if you're a beginner! I bought the book and it's got more info jammed in fewer pages than anything you'll ever read. The different methods of training, technique, and the importance of rest and recovery. The specifics on nutrition alone is worth the price. The author shows examples of diet planning and how to manipulate your metabolism for maximum muscle. The author does not focus on worthless supplements, he simply pushes good nutrition and pumping iron. I am constantly referring to this book after three months of reading and re-reading. There are plenty of pictures and advice regarding how to avoid injury.
The only negative about this book is several errors in grammar.
But the stuff is so practical and easy to read who cares! A great compact easy to carry book that I still keep on my nightstand.
This author is showing what one bodybuilder did to build real muscle and compete to win the big prize. Whether you're just looking to tone or build muscle, this book will help you look good naked!

A very good book that delivers what it promises. The book is intelligently broken into topics that cover the exercises, the grouping of exercises into workouts, how often to exercise, how many reps to perform and nutrician. Each section is written to cover people who what only to tone up, people who want to loose weight and those who want to gain weight/bulk up.

His advise on all this really is 'realistic'. He stresses the basic exercises (bench presses, squats, pull ups, etc) to build a good foundation before progressing onto the more specialized exercises like cable crossovers. He points out that suppliments are not only expensive but aren't necessary if you simply eat the right foods at the right times.

Although the end of the book covers various aspects of competing, I think the book is best used by beginners to intermediates. It is the only bodybuilding book that I will need buy.

I think this is the book for working people who want to build muscle/tone them/loose weight etc. Most books seem to be considering that the reader is into professional body building. So, even if you start the program, you end it soon because it is just too much effort. This however is really a realistic approach and thus, you can continue it and getting results. I started with Arnold's book and the 5 set approach. That was just too much as I never had enough time for the same. Eventually after a month or two, I left the program. Then later on, after several years, I got this book and this was a no-nonsense approach, which I can adopt easily with my extremely busy work schedule and part-time graduate degree even!

I have lifted weights on and off for 25, sometimes pretty seriously, occasionally achieving quite a lot of bulk and definition, but this book finally gave me a real plan suited for guys like me - athletic nerds who want to be in shape.

It really is realistic; it is complete (diet, "dungeon" (basement) workouts, and - importantly - safety, are covered thoroughly), easy to follow, and the pictures are great. Many times, the author says "Look, I've done this excercise tens of thousands of times, and this is how you really have to do it. Watch out for X, Y, and Z, and don't fall into the various traps of bad form that can result in injuries, slow development, or uneven development).

The writing is friendly yet never verbose. The reader is encouraged at every step of the way, and the sample workouts and diets make things concrete.

This book is the best bodybuilding/weight training book I have read. It is a no bull approach that gives you the straight details without all the frill. This is not a catalog of grunts posing, it is a real book for real people who want to get into weight training.

Melfa is direct and honest on what you need to do. The nutritional information is the easy to understand and gives you a complete break down of how to eat for either muscle building or fat loss. I found the nutritional section to be much more consise then most other books. Considering that eating right is more the 50% of weight training, I don't know why so many other books have skimped on this section. The excersises are consise and clear. Melfa explians all aspects from beginner up to advanced competive training with clear photos and detailed examples for performing each excersise.

I've checked out just about every book in the library about body building and this is the one I wanted to buy. I am constantly referring to it, any and all questions are addressed. If you want glossy, full color printing in a large bound book so you can gawk and dream, then don't buy this book. If you want to be serious about getting into a training program and progressing, this is the book to buy.

I purchased this book here as a guide to hopefully 're-learn' how to run, the mental part of the sport as well as the physical. I used to run 5Ks 10 years ago, and decided to start again, and hoped the book would help the emotional part of getting back into shape, and this time without the shinsplints and wrong shoes and diet that plagued my first foray into running. As a book written by a woman for women, I hoped that it might contain specific information and advice geared for the female body, and to that end, it does succeed.

While most of the writer's insights and advice are - yes - common sense, sometimes seeing it in writing makes it New again, so there I would give kudos to the writer. Her references to the many types of races, how to race with children, spouses, how to prepare for a race or how to train more efficiently are also helpful, as is the never-saw-it-like-THAT way that running can help the aging female body.

However, there is definite distinction made in this book between a Runner and a Jogger, and if you are the latter (as me), or cannot immediately go out and do 'and easy 5 Mile run', then this book might not exactly help in the 'help me at least get out and MOVE' area. She pretty much alludes that this is a book for RUNNERS. I run because I enjoy it, it is good for me, and it's a great way to stay in shape. I have no need to have a 'best time' for a mile, ten miles, marathon, etc. I'm competitive, but not to the point that I will dedicate my entire life to the next schedules race. Maybe I have the wrong attitude about it all, but it still seems rather elitist at times, which is a shame since interdisposed with all the running mantras are alot of really good advice points.

Even though this seems - to me, at least - to be a self-help book for women who want to run, really, unless you are either a former 10K+ runner or marathoner, or have the luxury of living in a safe area where you can run over hills and along stretches of roads (gee, kind of like the cover of the book), it reads as a 'welcome back' for the mid- and long-distance runner.

I bought this book on the recommendation of a friend. I can honestly say that it changed my life. It has everything a woman could need know about running. It got me from the point of not being able to run 5 minutes to running my first 1/2 marathon (and certainly could have gotten me to a marathon if I had any desire to run one). It has fantastic nutritional advice, great training plans, and advice for every situation a woman runner could find herself in.

The book is easy to read - I read it in a couple sittings the first time through, as thought it were a novel. The essays and stories are powerful and helpful. It is well edited and organized.

If you are a beginning runner, or if you have been running for year and you are looking for a new running guide, this book will be a great purchase. A number of friends have purchased it on my recommendation and they all say that it was a fantastic purchase.

I can't say enough good things about this book. I picked it up from my library a few weeks ago and ended up buying it because I think it will be such a good reference book for me in the future.

The number one thing that sets this book apart from the other running books I've seen out there is that it's written by a woman for women. Kowalchik knows what she's talking about, and she's been there. She includes chapters on safety, nutrition, running through pregnancy or menopause, and what to wear in any season. She also includes the training schedules she used to get ready for 5Ks, 10Ks, halfs and marathons. The graphs and information in this book makes it worth the buy.

This book was a birthday gift last year, and I loved every page (except for the few parts that don't quite pertain to me...running while pregnant, running during menopause). I have since recommended it to others and have given other copies as gifts. I even keep it handy as a reference material and resource.

The book is written in such a tone that it's very easy and enjoyable to read, and the author gives a ton of practical information for runners of every level -- from nutrition information to training schedules to advice about running with your dog.

The three areas I found most useful: 1) Nutrition information. I am 90% vegetarian, and I learned that my protein intake was far beneath what it needed to be in general, let alone for a runner. She provides recommendations/alternate food choices for vegetarians and just gives a lot of useful general nutrition info. (If you are a strict vegetarian and need a lot of diet information, you prob need another book. But if you want a good foundation, this will do it.) 2) Training schedules. She has everything from a 5k to a marathon, and she provides Gold, Silver and Bronze training schedules that allow you to choose the training program that fits your goals and time constraints. 3) History of women in running. I was fascinated (and horrified) to learn that women were not officially allowed to run marathons in the U.S. until the 70s, and the women's marathon didn't become an Olympic event until 1984.(It was considered bad for our reproductive organs. For the few women who did compete in marathons prior to the 70s, their times were not even recorded...not even for the woman who broke a world record in 1963.)

Overall, the book is an inspiring read while providing a wealth of practical information in an easy-to-read package. And the history of women in running chapter is prob just one of many reasons I decided to sign up for my first marathon for this fall.

This book is good for beginning runners...not a lot of new info for those of us running a long time (and who read a lot about it.) It does have a decent section about running during pregnancy, which is why I bought it. Overall, worth reading if you are a woman and love running.

I loved this book I read it cover to cover in less than 3 days I found it very informative and the highlighted pages would be very usefull in the labor and delivery room. I look forward to being able to use it during the actual delivery

This is our first pregnancy, and my husband is honestly more nervous than me! Letting him know what to expect is great for him.

This was one of the best purchases we made in terms of labor and delivery for our first child. Well worth reading for the mom-to-be and anyone else who is going to be involved in the labor and delivery.

The Birth Partner was a great book for anyone that wants to learn more about being a partner in the birthing/delivery process. I was a complete novice and found it so helpful to prepare me for my role in being a birthing coach for my friends home birth.

This book was extremely helpful in learning how to support the laboring mom. There were so many helpful resources to use. I will be taking this book to births with me for quick reference.

Primarily Lori Schiller and Amanda Bennett, but also Lori's family, Dr. Doller et al did an excellent work to open the window to the rest of us, socially acepted as "sane", to have a view into the mechanics of an actually "crazy" mind. I hadn't read a book like that for a long time, not a single sentence in this book is fluff! There is also an excellent movie in this book
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Lori, sweetheart, you are brave!!! Not only for fighting your sickness to a manageable state yourself, but also for being bravely honest to narrate your inner world despite "the voices"
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My son, also in his teens, started acting very weird and I thought he was just a spoiled brat, till my wife pointed out to me the obvious; "he wasn't OK" and he started to talk about "voices" and very similar things.
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I didn't really know what to do (he came from overseas to live with me, so I basically didn't know him). I fell like I had gone to a foreign country and would see signs I could not really comprehend. Lori helped me understand things better. I found clear answers to some very concrete questions I had myself about clinical craze
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Thank you Lori Schiller
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I loved this book's depiction of mental illness and have re-read it several times. I am going to push a question that has been alluded to in past reviews. This book was published 11 years ago. Does anyone have any updates as to how Lori has been doing since then? Thank you very much.

This is a unique and beautiful book. Any person with interests in Psychiatry or Mental Health issues must read it. It's the first time I experienced what a schizophrenic felt first hand. A must-read!

Schiller writes grippingly and insightfully of her experience of schizophrenia including the "cold wet packs" of ice water soaked sheets used to restrain and calm her psychotic outbursts and her times in hospital "quiet rooms". The writing style is journalistic and factual when dealing with intense emotions and experiences. She is wonderfully descriptive in explaining the reality of her delusions and hallucinations, the experiences of pychotherapy, suicide attempts, cocaine use, psychiatric hospitals and half way houses. Eventually clozaril helped (with psychotherapy) to bring her back from the abyss of severely disabling schizophrenia. Her full diagnosis is "schizoaffective" disorder as her illness includes a bipolar disorder component. The accounts by Schiller, her family members, doctors and friends lend insight to the course of her disease especially as experienced by her family. I was particularly struck by her parents' progress from denial and resentment of both her diagnosis and her doctors to growing insight into schizophrenia and eventual recognition of the illness in their family history. While the multiple accounts make the narrative more difficult to follow they also add greatly to the story. Highly recommended!

The Quiet Room is a powerful account of a woman lost in her illness of schizophrenia. I was amazed at how the author, Lori, hid her hallucinations from people for so long before getting treatment. I found myself angry at her parents for denying her illness for so long and delaying treatment which she very much needed years before it was received.

It's also amazing that Lori made it through her experience of schizophrenia and was able to tell her story. During the worst of her illness, she was extremely suicidal at times and thought nothing of it (for example, playing a game of crossing the street again and again with her eyes closed and walkman blaring so she couldn't hear the cars). She could have easily died at those times and not come through to tell her story.

This book was very well written and made me feel for Lori. I couldn't put this down once I started. Although, I did give it a five star review and found it to be one of the most interesting books I've read, I don't necessarily recommend it to everyone.

At times this book was too well written, too many details and caused parts of the book to be triggering for me. I'm not schizophrenic (never have been), but I've been in hospitals for depression and other things. Lori's details of the "quiet room" (seclusion in the hospitals) and what happened to her when she was out of control in the hospitals was disturbing to me, as I've been in different "quiet rooms" in hospitals and I found myself remembering my own experiences and getting upset. Just because this was triggering for me, doesn't mean it will be for others. I'm just saying, you've been warned.

As triggering as this book was, it remains a five star for me. It was gripping, intense, real --just the way a book should be-- and I loved it. I liked the way the story was told through family members as well. It helps the reader see the perspectives of those who loved Lori. It shows how her illness affected others.

Overall, The Quiet Room is a sad book. But it's inspiring and uplifting at the end. If Lori can make it through the horrors of schizophrenia, we can make it through our day-to-day lives of work, school, and dilemmas. This book gave me hope.