Synopses & Reviews
Kristi Meisenbach Boylan follows up her highly acclaimed
The Seven Sacred Rites of Menopause with a beautifully written, insightful book about menarchethe first menstrual cycleand its effect on a young girl's spiritual journey from maidenhood to motherhood.
While more and more parents are explaining in clear, open terms what happens physically to their daughters as they move through puberty, they often leave out the emotional implications. More importantly, they often fail to address the spiritual impact of the transition.
Meisenbach Boylan believes that parents need to make room for positive rituals in the lives of their daughters. These rites can act as a spiritual map for our daughters to follow as they make their way through the perilous landscape of adolescence. Young girls need these rites in order to truly understand that menarche is the central event that occurs as they make the pilgrimage from the safe cocoon of their parent's world into a world of their own. And more importantly, they need these rites in order to understand that it's okay to weep and to feel lost and alone at certain points along the way.
The author not only outlines these rites, but includes celebrations for parents and their daughters to share during this amazing time of growth. Although it often seems like an overnight event, the changes that transform a girl from maidenhood to motherhood do not happen instantaneously. The Seven Sacred Rites of Menarche shows parents how to join their daughters on this wondrous journey.
Review
“
The Seven Sacred Rites of Menarche is pure magic. Kristi Boylan tells the truth about both the pain and joy of the adolescent girl's coming of age. And she also provides us with a remarkable blueprint for honoring and nurturing a girl's spirit through the process, so that she stands a far better chance of growing into a strong and healthy woman.” —Christiane Northrup, author,
Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and
The Wisdom of MenopauseSynopsis
The vast majority of books on menarchethe first menstrual cycledo not address its effect on a young girls spiritual journey from maidenhood to womanhood. This book outlines the seven rituals, or stepping-stones, that a young woman faces on her voyage, marking her way through adolescence. These stepping-stones lead her from the childhood years to the childbearing years and draw attention to a young womans changing spirit. Included are ideas for creating rites of passage, celebrations, and positive rituals for both mothers and daughters to share during this challenging and amazing time of growth.
About the Author
Kristi Meisenbach Boylan is the former publisher of The Parent Track magazine. She began writing about women's issues and the relationship between spiritual growth and fluctuating hormones after her own menopausal transformation, resulting in the widely praised The Seven Sacred Rites of Menopause. For The Seven Sacred Rites of Menarche, Meisenbach Boylan drew upon her experiences as the mother of a twelve-year-old girl. She lives in Richardson, Texas.