The V Book: A Doctor's Guide to Complete Vulvovaginal Health Book

Finding a book on gynecology on my mother's bookshelf when I was 11 radically changed my life. I learned how my body worked and why it did things; I learned to ask questions and explore; I learned about intercourse and contraception and abortion. I grew up unafraid. I didn't really appreciate how important that education was for me until I started working in sex ed and realized that very few people get that kind of grounding in their own bodies.

The V Book is incredible. It covers the basics, but it also covers topics that most women don't understand: vaginal pH, bacterial balance, vulvodynia. It's a user's manual that encourages self-knowledge and agency. It troubleshoots, it tells women what to expect during appointments and what tests to ask for, and it teaches women how to find good doctors. It's the book I read, but with another twenty years of medical science and a better grasp of how to teach.

It's also nine years old at this point, and much of the information is out of date. For 2002, its information on vulvodynia is superb; for 2011 it's way behind the curve. Then again, in 2011 women still see half a dozen doctors before receiving a diagnosis of vulvodynia'this book is still radical simply by addressing the condition. I also disagree with some of the author's philosophy, but I'm pretty thoroughly steeped in harm reduction.

And I don't mind, because the fact that Stewart encourages women to take ownership of their bodies in a very straightforward way is pretty amazing. I'd like to buy a copy of this for every woman I know. If she publishes an updated edition, I probably will.