A week-long pop-up newsletter of stories and reflections about my period, from when I first got it to how I think about it now as a woman at 41, all written in real time during my period.
This will start on July 20th give or take, you’ll get one email a day, seven emails total. Then this newsletter will enter menopause.
Why am I doing this? For years I’ve been jotting down recurring memories of when my period was a main character only I knew about, a ghost only I could see, a friend only I could feel. I’ve thought surfacing these might illuminate how women are quietly stepping between disparate worlds all the time — the completely intimate world of their bodies, the private world of their relationships, and the public.
I’ve always wanted to pull periods and other aspects of the female experience into everyday conversations, especially now as so many narratives about women are being erased, recast, or controlled by people in power or companies peddling products. I also come from a culture that keeps periods shrouded in secrecy, and while I’ve spun this in a way that serves me, I’ve often wondered what it might have been like growing up if my period was more than just something I had to contend with.
This is obviously deeply personal and an exercise in agency. I’m not entirely sure what it might morph into in terms of length and flavor, or what my energy will be like throughout. It might start ferociously and then taper off into something more dulcet. It might be in lockstep or leak all over the place. If you’re at all curious, come along.