Blood by Dr. Jennifer Gunter: The Book Every Woman Needs to Read (But Nobody Told Us About)

Read time: 4 minutes

🎧 Listened in audio
📢 Narrated by Dr. Jennifer Gunter
⏱ Duration: 18 hours
🏷️ Publisher: Random House Canada

Book Blurb:

Dr. Jen Gunter, OB/GYN, NYT columnist, and the internet’s most trusted women’s health advocate, takes on menstruation with the same no-nonsense, myth-busting energy she’s known for. Most people who menstruate will have hundreds of periods in a lifetime, yet real information remains maddeningly hard to find. Gunter cuts through the shame, the patriarchal conditioning, and the social media misinformation to deliver science-backed, inclusive, shame-free facts. From period biology and endometriosis to PCOS and contraception disinformation, Blood is the comprehensive guide your health class never gave you, and absolutely should have.

Let’s talk about the book:

The title best describes the book. It’s supposed to have some sharp debunking of menstruation myths, and Dr. Jen Gunter absolutely delivers it. The book left me with a kind of quiet, slow-burning anger that only comes from realizing how much information has been deliberately kept from us, wrapped in shame and passed off as normal. Dr Jen Gunter explains away centuries of weaponized ignorance, with a frankness that feels like finally sitting across from a doctor who actually has time for your questions. Her narration feels equal parts doctor, teacher, and big sister who’s just done with societal nonsense.

The best parts about this book are the myth-bursting chapters. Each time Gunter connects a ridiculous cultural belief about periods (think menstrual blood as face mask because of the “medicinal properties”, or ancient rituals rooted in fear of women’s bodies) to the actual science of why that narrative exists, I came out of it with equal parts fascination and anger. The message is clear and powerful: your body is yours. Your comfort is yours. For your comfort and relief, you owe no one any apology.

That said, the audio book is dense. I love a good scientific deep-dive, but at times, it felt like getting lost in a medical journal. the 18-hour listen occasionally dragged, especially when the data took precedence over storytelling or cultural critique. Around the 15- hour mark, I found myself satisfied enough to stop, partly because the key takeaway had already sunk in for me: my body, my comfort, my rules!

Still, the combination of history, medicine, and haunting cultural insight makes this book essential reading. It’s empowering, educational, and thoroughly dismantles shame in a space that desperately needs candor and compassion.

Would I recommend it?

This is a required reading for anyone who wants to understand how deeply shame and misinformation have shaped women’s healthcare, and how science, culture, and gender politics intersect. It’s not a breezy listen, and it can be dense in some stretches, but the moments of clarity and empowerment make it worth the effort. Dr Gunter’s work is bold, factual, and deeply validating. Think of it as a book your body deserved long before now.

If You Liked This Book, Try:

• The Menopause Manifesto by Dr. Jennifer Gunter — The logical next chapter for readers who want Gunter’s same myth-busting energy applied to the life stage that follows menstruation.
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• Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez — The broader feminist data argument for why women’s health gaps exist in the first place; pairs brilliantly with Blood‘s cultural commentary.
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• This Is Your Brain on Birth Control  by Sarah E. Hill — Science meets personal agency on hormonal health.
  Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
• The Vagina Bible by Dr. Jennifer Gunter — If Blood left you wanting more of Gunter’s zero-shame, science-first approach, this is her foundational text on vaginal and vulvar health.
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• Period Power by Maisie Hill — A more accessible, less clinical companion for readers who want to work with their cycle in practical, day-to-day life.
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Periods, Patriarchy, and the Truth! What Do You Think?

Had you heard any of the menstrual myths Dr. Gunter busts in this book? Or did something in here genuinely surprise you? Drop it in the comments — I have a feeling we’ve all got a story or two about the weird things we were told about our own bodies growing up. Let’s talk about it.

Book Links:

Want to purchase this or any of your favorite books while supporting a local bookstore? Consider purchasing using the sites below. These sites work with independent local bookstore owners to fulfill your book orders. #SupportLocal

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org
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