The Cycle Book: An Interactive Step-by-Step Guide to Tracking Hormones and Knowing Your Body

by Laura Federico, Morgan Miller

Millions of people track their cycles on apps because it's a convenient way to know when your next period is likely coming. But those apps are also tracking your data, sometimes in ways that are not legal or consensual. And they don’t go deep enough. What's worse, they're also leaving users vulnerable to surprisingly inaccurate fertility predictions, with some studies estimating efficacy at about 20 percent for correctly predicting ovulation.
Written by a midwife and a clinical sex therapist, The Cycle Book is the solution. It’s the customizable book they dreamed up because they needed it so desperately—for their patients, for their friends, for themselves. Complete with journal prompts and a full year’s worth of beautiful, simple-to-use cycle tracking forms, this is daily charting made easy.
When you learn how to track your cycles, you are learning to:
-expand the pleasure in your life
-manage and prevent pain
-regulate your moods and emotions
-chart the ups and downs of a relationship
-understand your period
-ease the symptoms of endometriosis, anxiety, IBS, or perimenopause
Cycle tracking can even be the missing link to getting a chronic illness diagnosis or the final piece of the puzzle in understanding your mental health.
Menstruation is vastly understudied and has not been given its due by science and culture. We’ve been done wrong! Now, there's a better way. The powerful tool of tracking is so valuable that everyone can learn from it. The Cycle Book is an education. You decide what to track, and Laura and Morgan will help you step-by-step as you take back control over your cycles—and your life.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

Published January 28, 2025

About the author

Laura is a psychotherapist, AASECT-certified sex therapist, writer, and consultant.

Reviews

[Jessica Tennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Riddled with condescension and therapy speak

[R Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

First a disclosure: I have known one of these women her entire life and I have known the other for most of her adult life. Needless to say, I do have a certain bias. However, that is arguably countered because I have seen both grow into and mature in their professions and I have have been privy to the development of The Cycle Book at every step. Even though I was reasonably well informed beforehand, the content has considerably expended my knowledge and insight. I wish that I had had access to this book when I was a young man, later a husband, and then a father. One surprise was the nuanced and intelligent discussion about pain, especially in the context of interaction with the medical profession. I live with chronic pain throughout my body and can’t begin to enumerate the times I have been asked to use one-to-ten to express the level of my pain. Rest assured that I will never answer that specific question again and will instead turn the conversation toward more useful information for diagnosis and help. Perhaps this book is not just for women?

[Jessica Potter]

Living with endometriosis means navigating unpredictable symptoms—pain that flares, exhaustion that hits out of nowhere. I’ve used period apps to track it, but they always felt limiting. It was like they were telling me I wasn’t "normal," if I didn't follow a perfect 28-day rule. Plus, making detailed notes was a pain. I love that The Cycle Book lets me step away from my phone and just observe my body. And, it’s a relief knowing Big Tech can’t see my info.

I can tell this book was made by people who care. I can track pain, digestion, mood swings, in a way that feels intuitive. This workbook empowers you to pay attention to your body and your personal cycle. It reminds you that your symptoms are real. They aren't made up. And yeah, there is a pattern. Oh and an added plus, the artwork is really neat!

[Alayna Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

So grateful to see reviews from male-bodied people here! This book is not only for people who cycle. The menstrual cycle is part of the human experience, and this book is an incredible tool for those who cycle and a foundation for understanding and compassion for those who don't. I am 38-years-old, and I've been reflecting on how different my life could have been if I had access to this information when I was a teen and started menstruating. This book has the ability to empower people to understand their bodies and to advocate more fully for their health, and it could also influence the medical field to understand menstruating bodies more—it's going to have to catch up, because people are about to understand more about their bodies than their providers! Thank you Morgan and Laura!

[Ma'Any Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed my life. Ever since I started reading it I’ve been measuring how my cycle impacts my body and affects my daily living. I finally feel like I’m not constantly in a fight with my hormones and the messages my body has been trying to tell me for YEARS. The suffering and pain and all the emotional distress is so much easier to handle now than I can expect what each month is going to look like. Now I feel like I can actually tell my doctor how I’ve been feeling with confidence! I cannot reccomendation the cycle book enough.

[Laura McGinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly approachable yet sophisticated book. Part guide, part monitoring workbook, this is a useful and valuable source of support. Whether you have serious concerns about your cycle or just want to understand your body more intimately, this book is fantastic. Makes me feel very taken care of and encouraged. A great purchase to gift to the girls and women in your life who might appreciate a deeper understanding of their own hormonal growth and developments.

[Shan B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had the toughest time learning how to track my own cycle and really don't want to get caught up in the privacy issues of phone apps. So grateful for this guide. The authors write in an approachable and understanding way, and I'm finding myself actually sticking to the process! I'm excited to be more active in conversations with my providers now.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

So informative! Men should know what women are going through and know more about women’s health. This book was very eye opening and I hope this knowledge makes me a better partner.

The book is also really well written. It takes a special skill to be able to explain complicated subjects in a straightforward and entertaining way.

[Regan Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not only incredibly informative, but also provides helpful tools. The personas in this book are such perfect examples of the issues that I have faced myself and see my friends facing. This book is for anyone who wants to know more about their cycle for fertility tracking, period pain, or heading into perimenopause. Highly recommend!

[Lauren Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much finished in one sitting after discovering this book on the shelf at the library. Federico and Miller offer an approach to understanding women’s cycles that I’ve been trying to articulate and find for awhile. Insightful, empowering, filled with generous knowledge and genuine curiosity- this book is such a gift of a resource for women.

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly informative on the many issues women face.

[Julie R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't think I would recommend. Confusing in the tracking pages.

[Erin (The Grateful Poet)]

This is a great book for anyone looking to learn more about their cycle, their hormones, and how it all affects their physical body and their moods. I wish I had this a few years ago when I had to do all the research on my own!