Bloody Powerful
The taboo-busting guide to periods, menopause and everything in-between
Busting myths on everything from periods to menopause, this stunningly illustrated book is your complete guide to gynaecological health.
Buy the bookAbout the book
Bloody Powerful started with a pattern I kept seeing, in clinic and online: people have plenty of questions about their bodies, but either weren’t taught the answers at school, or don’t feel the question is ‘big enough’ to book an appointment for. That leaves a real gap. Most of us learn the basics as teenagers, periods, contraception, and then don’t properly understand our own cycles and symptoms until we’re trying for a pregnancy, or until something goes wrong.
I’m aware I’ve had a kind of inside knowledge as a doctor, and it didn’t sit right that this understanding isn’t available to everyone when it affects half the population. The book has one practical aim: help people understand what’s normal, what isn’t, and when to seek help, so they can advocate for themselves and ask clearer questions in their own appointments.
I didn’t want it to read like a textbook, which is why I worked with illustrator Hazel Mead rather than writing a dry reference guide. Published by Cambridge University Press, it covers periods, menopause and everything in between in plain language, grounded in the medicine I practise every day. It’s meant to be picked up and read with a friend or a daughter, the kind of book that invites a conversation rather than sitting unopened on a shelf.
What readers and reviewers are saying
“Empower yourself by reading this no-holds-barred guide to the cycles and complexities of the female body.”
Vanessa FeltzBroadcaster and presenter of ‘Vanessa’“Bloody Powerful is a vital contribution to the growing movement to give women the information they deserve about their bodies. What makes this book stand out is Brooke’s expertise, clarity and compassion which shine through every page.”
Anita MitraGynaecologist and author of The Gynae Geek“This book is bloody brilliant. I wish I could have read it in my teens and twenties. Brooke tells it like it is, with humour and empathy.”
Liz O’RiordanAuthor of The Cancer Roadmap“Bloody Powerful is a bold, brilliant and much-needed guide that cuts through the noise and empowers women with clear, compassionate, and evidence-based information about their bodies.”
Jenny Halpern Prince, MBECo-founder of The Lady Garden Foundation“We all have questions, and it can be difficult to know where to go and who to trust to get the correct answers. This book makes it simple: if you have a question about women’s health, Brooke has the answer.”
Philippa KayeGP, journalist and author of The Science of MenopauseThe illustrations
Every chapter is brought to life by illustrator Hazel Mead, whose artwork sits at the centre of the book’s tone: warm, direct and never clinical in the cold sense. The illustrations do as much of the explaining as the text does.
From the launch
