Books about reproductive health, Fertility Awareness, and Natural Family Planning

More about Katie Singer

Garden of Fertility Book CoverHonoring Our CyclesIn her books, The Garden of Fertility (2004) and Honoring Our Cycles (2006), Katie Singerintroduces Fertility Awareness (also called Natural Family Planning).With these methods, a woman who charts her temperature and cervical mucus can know when she is fertile and infertile. A woman who charts her fertility signs can also know whether she is ovulating or miscarrying. You can learn remedies for problems like Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and fertility.

R E S O U R C E S   A N D   B I B L I O G R A P H Y
F e r t i l e   C r e a t i v i t y ,   M y t h o l o g y ,   &   H i s t o r y

Albery, Nicholas, et al, The World's Greatest Ideas: An Encyclopedia of Social Inventions, New Society Publishers, 2001. A wild, awesome, inspiring compilation of ideas for creating a better world. www.globalideasbank.org

Chen, Constance, The Sex Side of Life: Mary Ware Dennett's Pioneering Battle For Birth Control and Sex Education, The New Press, 1996. A fascinating biography of Margaret Sanger's rival.

Delaney, Janice, Mary Jane Lupton, and Emily Toth, The Curse: A Cultural History of Menstruation, E.P. Dutton and Co., 1976. This book is out of print, but it's well worth finding through a used bookseller or inter-library loan. The onset of menses signals the transformation of a girl into a woman. In many societies, this is also the moment when a woman becomes a prisoner of the menstrual taboo. This book presents taboos, myths, rituals, and symbols about the menstrual cycle which have influenced women's and men's ideas about themselves and society.

Goldsworthy, Andy, Wood, Harry Abrams, 1996. Goldsworthy is internationally known for sculptures he creates from materials such as leaves, stone, branches, water, and grass. He works mostly in nature, configuring indigenous materials in direct response to the prevailing temperature, light and weather. The resulting spirals, arches, spheres, or circular mounds that interact with their surrounding landscape have been described as "plainspoken physical poetry." Goldsworthy believes that his projects, like nature itself, should be transient: "Only in this way can the cycle remain unbroken and the process be complete." Wood is one of a handful of amazing books which present his work.

Hyde, Lewis, The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property, Vintage, 1983. An inquiry into the place of creativity in our market-oriented society. Hyde also presents the traditions of fertility-based cultures. I'm still rereading this book--and I first bought it over ten years ago.

Kitzinger, Sheila, Rediscovering Birth, Pocket Books, 2001. Kitzinger is a social anthropologist of childbirth. This book chronicles ideas and mythologies about pregnancy and birth from a wide array of cultures past and present--and explores how we can learn from them. Kitzinger focuses on the need today for vital and human connections in the birthing process. Starting with the classic bestseller, Pregnancy and Childbirth, her books are exceptionally beautiful and well-written. www.SheilaKitzinger.com.

Steig, Jeanne and William, A Gift from Zeus. Harper Collins, 2001. A fabulous book for children including the myth of Demeter (goddess of fertility), her daughter Persephone, and Hades.

Walker, Barbara: The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, Harper and Row, 1993. This book has been an invaluable addition to my library.

www.WildWorksUnlimited.com Encouraging authentic expression and celebrating the feminine through music, art, poetry and prose.

  • Fertile Creativity, Mythology, & History