Periods in Print: Share Your Story

Imagine sitting down in a hotel lobby and right there in the middle of the coffee table is a beautiful book filled with gorgeous illustrations and true stories…about menstruation. Why not? 

Learned shame about our periods has kept us silenced. But it doesn’t have to be this way. It shouldn’t be this way! Sharing our stories can be a beautiful and powerful way to drive menstruation out of the darkness and into the light.

Help us break the silence and share your period stories—the good, the bad, and the bloody—for our new Book on Periods. Start talking! Because every story shared is a step towards ending period shame.

Coming Soon to a Coffee Table Near You

We have coffee table books about architecture, birds, nature, art—why not menstruation? The so-called great works of literature from over the centuries have excluded many stories, including stories about menstruation. It’s as if periods didn’t exist! Words shape our realities and the world has, by and large, omitted a huge part of our existence. And yet we continue to bleed.

For a host of reasons, including not seeing our experiences “legitimized” in print, millions of people who menstruate have been made to feel ashamed of this completely natural and involuntary experience.

So we thought, how can we unite people with periods in sharing their stories to dismantle period taboos? How can we foster a culture where period talk is welcomed as a natural and everyday conversation? What if we told our stories? And empowered these stories by putting them in print? 

Our answer to these questions was to create the ultimate conversation piece: The Book on Periods—a coffee table book about periods.

Share the Story They Told You to Hide

Periods are natural—talking about them should be, too. Share your story and help us change the narrative.

Tell us about that time you free-bled on the bus, the first time you had period sex, the impact of the unbearable pain of endometriosis, unwelcome periods trying for pregnancy, and the worry of missed periods or your weird perimenopausal experience that doctors may have ignored. We want to hear your stories, from PMDD to PCOS, body dysmorphia to euphoria, and all the bloody stories in between. 

Then we’re putting these stories in actual print. Not a book to be hidden on your bookshelf. But a coffee table book to be left out for all to see. To empower. To spark conversation. To end period silence and break period stigma once and for all.

Put an End to Period Silence

Visit theperiodbook.com to watch a video about this project, get answers to all your questions, and submit your story!

Whether you send us a story or it sparks conversation with you and your circle, the main thing is to get talking!

Because breaking the silence starts with your voice—tell your period story and help us end period silence for good. 

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What if I am not a writer?

You don't have to be a published author, a poet, or a writer of any kind. 

What if I don't have any good stories?

All period stories are good stories! The main objective of this project is to get people talking, whatever your story.

Are you looking for essays?

Memoirs, anecdotes, poems, stories, artwork, graphic art—however you express yourself is welcomed and treasured. It doesn't have to be long, fancy, or literary.

How many stories are you publishing?

LOTS! Get your stories in as soon as possible for your best chance of being included.

Do you have any story tips?

Be yourself and speak your truth. If it's hard to do that under your real name, it's ok to use a pen name. No story is too small, no story is too taboo. This is a safe space.

What if I don't know what to talk about?

Here are some writing prompts to get you started: