It’s been a fair while since I’ve reviewed, or actually even read a book, but I just couldn’t pass on Go Figure! The Astonishing Science of the Female Body by Lisa Falco. I’ve been thinking for a while I don’t really understand how my body works, so the timing was just perfect!
The book goes into everything the female body does in detail, from periods and pregnancy to the hormones that cause the cycles female bodies go through, and best of all for me, its easy to understand. I’ve read about periods and ovulation before, and been left thoroughly confused by all the acronyms and words I’d never read before, and although this book is scientific and still has those, they’re explained in terms that are easy to understand.
Falco has thoroughly nailed the art of explaining things that would otherwise go over my head, in a way that’s simple and often times rather amusing or relatable, without feeling like she’s dumbing things down. Theres also a mention in the foreword of this exclusively focusing on the biology of the female body, and gender can vary from that, making it more accessible to those who may not be women but have female anatomy, which I really like since I think it’s beneficial for anyone and everyone to learn about how their body works.
There’s also diagrams thrown in which further helped me as the reader to understand what I was reading, and better process it to actually learn something. They’re simple, easy to understand, and honestly quite cute too, so I really appreciated them being thrown in there. I think between that and the science focus of the book, it’s the type of book that would be a great read for someone approaching puberty, all the way to someone approaching the menopause. No matter where someone is in life, they would definitely learn something from reading Go Figure!.
Considering its a book that approaches the parts of having a female body that are considered ‘gross’ by a lot of society, or else just not spoken about at all, the straightforward explanations are refreshingly validating, and there were many things I thought were ‘weird’ about my body that I now know are entirely normal.
It is surprising to read how much is unknown about why female bodies react in certain ways or do certain things, but Falco tackles that fantastically by explaining what it is that’s unknown, and what the theories are, while still making clear that much more research needs to be done to be able to fully assist those of us that have female bodies when we have questions or things out of the ordinary happening to us.
I think we can all benefit massively from being more aware of how our bodies work and what they do, especially those of us that experience periods, pregnancy and all the rest of it, and though I think it’d be great for everyone to better understand female bodies (Maybe we’d stop being asked if we’re on our periods anytime we show displeasure?), I especially think Go Figure! is a must read for anyone with female anatomy.
It’s an easy five star book for me, I’m really glad it’s been written and it’s one I’d certainly have picked up for myself if I hadn’t been very kindly sent it!
-Dana
Carry on Beautiful! 