Welcome to Your Period!

This frank, funny guide to getting your period gives preteens all they need to master—and even celebrate!—menstruation.

Getting your period for the first time can be mortifying, weird, and messy—and asking questions about it can feel even worse. But it doesn’t have to be that way. This taboo-free guide is packed with honest advice and big-sisterly wisdom on all the things girls need to know: from what cramps feel like to whether you can feel blood coming out,\ to what you should do if your pad leaks onto your clothes. Welcome to Your Period includes case studies, first-person accounts, questions from real teens, and answers from health journalist Yumi Stynes and adolescent health specialist Melissa Kang, MD. Cheerful illustrations keep the tone fun, and help with how-tos on different period supplies. There are even suggestions for throwing a first-period party. With its inclusive, body-positive message, pocket size, and reassuring vibe, this must-have menstruation manual will make girls feel not only normal but proud.

Yumi Stynes is an Australian writer, broadcaster, television presenter, food fanatic, fitness enthusiast, and mother of four—including two teenage girls. She is the presenter of the award-winning ABC Radio podcast Ladies, We Need to Talk, about female health and sexuality. Yumi Stynes lives in Sydney.

Melissa Kang, MD, answered teenagers’ questions about puberty, sex, and relationships for more than two decades as the “Dolly Doctor” for Australia’s Dolly magazine. She is a practicing medical doctor for marginalized young people and has academic roles at the University of Technology Sydney and the University of Sydney. Melissa Kang lives in Sydney.