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Periodic Bitch
A memoir of menstruation, madness and monsters.
Every twenty-nine days, Emma Hardy is an absolute mess. She is irritable, depressed, angry, weepy, out of control. She lays in bed, stares at the walls for hours. Then it passes, and she forgets about it. When a doctor diagnoses her with PMDD, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, she begins to question when a mood is just a mood, and when a mood becomes an illness.
Searching for truth between the myths and taboos that surround menstruation, Hardy stumbles across crime scenes, feminist horrors and the history of women who have been institutionalised for hysterical illnesses.
Unwaveringly honest, perspicacious, brilliant and endearing, Periodic Bitch offers a new understanding of our beliefs about illness and the stories we tell, and announces Hardy as a profoundly talented new voice.
'A beautiful literary memoir that is part detective story, part love story ... For those with PMDD, Periodic Bitch will be transformative—but all readers will gasp and admire how Emma Hardy captures the moment-by-moment experience of being alive.' Jessica Stanley, author of Consider Yourself Kissed
'Periodic Bitch is much more than a medical memoir, it is an unflinching exploration of what it means to be human. ... I learnt a great deal from this book—as a health professional, as a woman, but most of all as a human being trying to create a pocket of space for myself in the world.' Melanie Cheng, author of The Burrow
Every twenty-nine days, Emma Hardy is an absolute mess. She is irritable, depressed, angry, weepy, out of control. She lays in bed, stares at the walls for hours. Then it passes, and she forgets about it. When a doctor diagnoses her with PMDD, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, she begins to question when a mood is just a mood, and when a mood becomes an illness.
Searching for truth between the myths and taboos that surround menstruation, Hardy stumbles across crime scenes, feminist horrors and the history of women who have been institutionalised for hysterical illnesses.
Unwaveringly honest, perspicacious, brilliant and endearing, Periodic Bitch offers a new understanding of our beliefs about illness and the stories we tell, and announces Hardy as a profoundly talented new voice.
'A beautiful literary memoir that is part detective story, part love story ... For those with PMDD, Periodic Bitch will be transformative—but all readers will gasp and admire how Emma Hardy captures the moment-by-moment experience of being alive.' Jessica Stanley, author of Consider Yourself Kissed
'Periodic Bitch is much more than a medical memoir, it is an unflinching exploration of what it means to be human. ... I learnt a great deal from this book—as a health professional, as a woman, but most of all as a human being trying to create a pocket of space for myself in the world.' Melanie Cheng, author of The Burrow
240 pages, Paperback
Published April 28, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
April 28, 2026
Don't love the portrayal of the boyfriend. He seems nice and misunderstood. Would love to see the story from his perspective
July 18, 2026
4.5⭐️ - Okay, so in all honesty, I picked this up purely because of its amazing cover... and I'm so glad I did! I don't read a lot of memoirs, but this one really spoke to me. Emma Hardy writes about living with PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) while also weaving history, folklore, horror, feminism and pop culture into such an insightful, but equally hilarious, memoir. I don't have PMDD myself but I still found it absolutely fascinating. It made me realise just how little I actually knew about the condition and more broadly, how much women's health is still misunderstood and under-researched.
Emma doesn't just share her own experience, she also digs into the long history of women being dismissed, labelled "hysterical" or expected to simply put up with pain. It made me angry at how often women are forced to fight to be believed, while also making me want to learn more about the gaps in medical research and treatment. I loved all the horror, mythology and folklore references sprinkled throughout and how they tied into the idea that women have so often been portrayed as monstrous simply for existing outside what's considered "acceptable". It's thoughtful, vulnerable and incredibly eye-opening, while also somehow managing to make me laugh. I'd definitely recommend this one if you're interested in women's health, memoirs or books that make you look at the world a little differently.
Emma doesn't just share her own experience, she also digs into the long history of women being dismissed, labelled "hysterical" or expected to simply put up with pain. It made me angry at how often women are forced to fight to be believed, while also making me want to learn more about the gaps in medical research and treatment. I loved all the horror, mythology and folklore references sprinkled throughout and how they tied into the idea that women have so often been portrayed as monstrous simply for existing outside what's considered "acceptable". It's thoughtful, vulnerable and incredibly eye-opening, while also somehow managing to make me laugh. I'd definitely recommend this one if you're interested in women's health, memoirs or books that make you look at the world a little differently.
August 8, 2026
Periodic Bitch felt as if I were looking in a mirror.
Emma Hardy expresses such honesty in this book about the harrowing conditions women are inherently subjected to. Hardy speaks about rage, memory loss, a deep sadness and their associations with PMDD and it rings such truth within me. Truthfully it made me feel a little less alone in the struggles a lot women keep silent. I also loved the use of folklore, pop culture and countless scientific articles that threaded this piece into the masterpiece it is.
A fantastic read and highly recommend.
Thank you to Allen & Unwin and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Emma Hardy expresses such honesty in this book about the harrowing conditions women are inherently subjected to. Hardy speaks about rage, memory loss, a deep sadness and their associations with PMDD and it rings such truth within me. Truthfully it made me feel a little less alone in the struggles a lot women keep silent. I also loved the use of folklore, pop culture and countless scientific articles that threaded this piece into the masterpiece it is.
A fantastic read and highly recommend.
Thank you to Allen & Unwin and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 17, 2026
Weaving folklore, myth and historical data with women’s (health) experiences in general and her own experiences with PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) in particular, as they unfolded during Melbourne’s Covid lockdowns - I was sat. I don’t usually read NF or memoirs, this caught my eye at the bookstore with its super cool cover and well, chalk it up as a win for the girlies who choose their books by the cover 😂 I came out of this reading experience with a whole bunch of books and movies added to my read/watch list.
June 2, 2026
Hormones r wild. Shoutout Hannah’s mum
May 25, 2026
I’m quite over reading COVID woven literature/memoirs. It was importantly to this memoir and to relay throughout, but personally I’ve reached my fill of COVID tales. I understood what Hardy was relating with the mythologies but also wasn’t overly interested in this aspect either. Hardy’s experience with medical professionals and navigating pharmacology, self-advocacy and personal relationships was the most interesting component to this book.
June 18, 2026
Holy Dooley. What a great book. I think anyone who experiences the menstrual cycle would love this memoir. It was so exposing and detailed and dark, but also felt so real and hopeful. I am angry at science and the lack of funding for women’s health. I am angry at doctors who don’t listen to women. I am angry at the patriarchy. This book made me feel understood. Gah, give it a go. Loved all the witchy-ness in it too!
August 8, 2026
Felt like I was reading a book about myself and feel incredibly seen. The day I found out not everyone who has a period experiences PMDD symptoms was genuinely a shock to me, thought it was normal
August 3, 2026
Incredible! Folklore, literature and (the lack of) research tangled amongst Emma’s vulnerable and honest story telling.
August 11, 2026
How insanely validating. I could laugh/cry & I have. Vindication.
June 23, 2026
Really really good- as a girl who has PMDD and dabbles joyfully in horror this made me feel really seen
July 16, 2026
Gingersnaps mentioned in the big 2026 we love to see it
The memoir chapters were good but I didn't enjoy all the monster chapters 3.5 rounded down : )
The memoir chapters were good but I didn't enjoy all the monster chapters 3.5 rounded down : )
July 4, 2026
SO RELATABLE IT FELT LIKE A MIRROR OF MYSELF.
"THE TRUTH IS FEW WOMEN KNOW WHAT IS NORMAL WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR CYCLES. THE NORM IS TO EXPECT WOMEN TO SUFFER"
"DIAGNOSING IT IS MEANT TO BE A TOOL FOR SEEKING TREATMENT - CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE IS UNABLE TO DO THE WORK THAT SUCCEEDS NAMING IT; ACTUALLY TREATING IT".
I binged this hard. I get that people are over COVID but as someone who only had the Sydney Lockdown and not the Melbourne ones like Emma, god it gave me perspective. I also have PMDD and I cannot even begin to imagine living with PMDD and a house with a partner during the Melbourne lockdowns and both working from home - I don't know how she made it through.
My only critiques are that it can sometimes be a bit disjointed. I wanted more nitty gritty details of the metaphorical beasts Emma weaves into depictions of menstruation and madness in our culture. I think the idea is soooo strong but it needed more weight to feel like it really mattered (especially since the front cover is a wolf face). I also just wanted more sciencey stuff but thats not everyones cup of tea and also it just straight up doesnt exist so that's not Emmas fault.
-" Many of the resoucrces I find about premenstrual illness are medical, scientific texts- written by men - in disembodied and abstract ways. the ilness is not lived in but observed. I find these texts distant and at times useless".
I was diagnosed at 28 and Emma i think was 25, which i feel like is quite young to get a diagnosis for it (even though its super late). I've read a bit on medical misogyny in the past so Emma's personal experience of PMDD was what really gripped me here. I was constantly underlining things. I also read this in luteal phase peak PMDD wave riding and god it hit home so hard.
TAKEAWAYS:
ON DISCOVERING HER PMDD:
- "I wasnt even sure which questions I should be asking; was this illness real? Did I really have it? If so which parts of myself were me, and which were PMDD?"
-PMDD = Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. Dysphoria (dys- evil, phoria- to carry) = An evil to carry (reminds me of the term hysterectomy it should be uterectomy) but it does feel like an evil to carry especially when theres no fkn research or representation even.
- When she talks with her psych about schemas and childhood the experience feels similar to mine, like sure i had some things in childhood that were hard but was it really that overly traumatic, she talks about this and how it leaves her with a distrust of her memory, did she forget? had she repressed? THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I FELT/FEEL
- Emma explains how she doesnt even remember when she started to feel this way, was it from the first period? but she quickly went on the pill and then the IUD (my exact trajectory aswell) She talks about how this effects how you see yourself and its so true like i dont know my baseline either. She goes through the process of getting the IUD out to find out but I also have endo and this doesnt seem doable for me at least right now- which feels like an impossible choice because treatments for PMDD and endo right now are in direct opposition to each other. Couple this with gaslighting from the med system and then capitalism crushing our connection to our bodies I constantly feel rage and confusion with trusting my body, my memory, my feelings, am I my well self or my unwell self?
- Removing her IUD is an attempt to account for variables but you can never account for them all (so relatbale) "I cannot know how I would feel were I not a caged animal, trapped indoors".
-" people describe themselves as feeling monstrous, out of control, wild, irraitonal, angry, manic. They fear what they may do, and fear that they are incapable of stopping it" - literally so true, I always wanna blow up my life and move/break up with people, cut bad fringes etc
-"I wonder at what point is an emotion just an emotion, and what point does this emotion become an illness too"
- "There are times when it catches me by surprise, times i deny i have it, only for the blood to come and my mood lift. Just because an illness is culturally constructed doesnt mean it isnt real, unconvinced that there is no biological component, i want to hold multiple realities, that PMDD can be a physical, mental and cultural illness all at once"
- A gp says to her that they dont think we were really supposed to have regular periods, throughout most of our evolution weve either been starving or pregnant, when you look at it that way a regular period is really a modern thing. - i found this interesting especially in relation to people being concerned about skipping periods when on contraception.
- People with periods are twice as likely to have adverse effects to medication
SOME OF THE MOST RELATABLE THINGS FOR ME
- "Most of the time when I am well, I forget that I was ever unwell at all. I convince myself that i am moving on a linear path through time not cycling through the same mess over and over again" ME ME ME. It's so destabilising like do I have amnesia wtf? I forget every time. I'll think i am just so depressed for 2-3 weeks then the realisation hits.
-" Each month i cant tell whether what i feel is real, or am i being driven crazy? I cant handle the small stuff and I cry over little inconvieniences. She talks about the frustration of why am i dating a man who cant wash a dish properly but I am not on bed rest, i am not dying. I feel theres 2 halves of me, one that can cope with the unprecedented (COVID) times and the other half cant. One version I can do all my tasks and the other version sees a dish out in the morning and completely melts down".
- Being inundated by all these 'diets' I feel so similar to her "Im not convinced theres any point to it at all. It seems like just another diet, another way for women to reduce, reduce, reduce. to turn their monstorus rage unto something that can be controlled, portioned off and safely consumed".
- Her partner asks is this a PMDD thing? "I feel restless, anxious, like something- anything needs to change and that breaking up might be the answer. the answer to what im unsure" - ME ME ME , on reflection she says its so obvious and yet she still has such a hard time recognising it, again mistrusting her own memories and experiences. - ME x 1000
- When her partner yells about a muscle cramp she details how she was at a chemist keeping a straight face while having horrific cramps and she adds "imagine yelling becuase you had a cramp- imagine! it sounds like a dream" - LITERALLY
- "When I am unwell, I fear myself. I am so terrified of what I might do that I can hardly do anything at all"
- " I start to wonder if what I feel during my luteal phase is justified rage at an unfair world, and the rest of the time I am just numb enough to tolerate the unfairness around me" - one of my fave quotes.
- "I wonder if I am deluding myself into thinking that this is a good idea simply because I am so terribly bored".
-"I cant understand my own illness There are days when I wake up happy and content and I cant fathom he anger of the night before. At other times, I wonder whether I use PMDD as an excuse: as my own serum, under the influence of which i have license to act badly and avoid responsibility for my actions".
-"perhaps i've always been a little feral, a little bit of a monster, and im using pathology as an excuse".
- "if i cant identify my own desire, my own appetite, my own desire, my hunger, how could i anticipate the casual relationship between my monstrous feelings and the flux of hormones I experience each month"
- On her partner: " i fear that i am devouring him ; that i am the monster and he will be my sacrifice".
- "I dont know how to respect myself when i'm like this, prostrate and static on the floor".
-" I stare at the ceiling all morning, unable to do anything, wondering if im putting it on. If i just changed my mindset, perhaps all these dramatics would fade away. I think about dying again, then tell myself im doing it for attention. I cant imagine these feelings going away" - literally me everytime.
- "THE FLOOD OF HUMILIATION/ RELIEF THAT I HAVE ONCE THE BLEEDING STARTS BECOMES SYMPTOMS ALLEVIATING UPON ONSET OF MENSES"
- "I think of how I wake up the morning of my period, blissful and oblivious to my pain from the night before. Outside of the luteal phase, I can hardly remember how distressed I was. Within the luteal phase, I can hardly remember ever being okay. I find myself severed: one self who only remembers the pain , and the one self who can barely poke at its surface. I think of all the times ive tried to remember what ive done, what im capable of, and my recollections have appeared hazy and blurred". "The shock is in remembering". "forgetting is the horror"
ON WOMANS CRIMES and MONSTERS
- Sadie Craddock back in 1980 (diagnosed now with PMDD) killed a co worker but whats interesting about this case was her suicide attempts occured every 29.55 days.
- Monster theory (Jeffrey Jerome Cohen) points that creation of monsters is a way of policing behaviour in society, ensuring people dont defy cultural norms. She then talks about the movie Carrie (she becomes a monster the moment she gets her period.
- Another example is Medusa. She only becomes a monster after she was raped by Poseidon. Her pain is so great that no one could look at her. She was monstrous because she felt too much. I had no idea of Medusas origin story. Society really just hates women so much ugh.
- Women as monsters often depicted consuming too much, wanting too much and feeling too much hunger for women is the making of a monster.
- Psychs pushed back against inclusion of PMDD in the DSM for fear of further stigmatising a normal part of menstruation. "I think of female werewolves, how they ask their doctors, the school nurse, 'what is wrong with me'? and to be tolf 'this is normal'. But by limiting its inclusion we limit the avenues available for those who cannot manage their anger- who cant function - to seek help.
-" I think it's naive to view us as other than our hormones, our biology. Perhaps the sexism stems from the ways in which we view women as susceptible to hormones and men as exempt".
- look up the pms defence.
- In horror it is usually women who devour and become monstrous. Can anyone think of examples of women quenching their hunger and it not be coded in horror?
ON CYBORGS
- Emma talks about how the pill and the IUD are technically ways that make us a cyborg and I have had this thought many times (aswell as for my metal reconstructed ankle)
"With an IUD inside me I run against the narrative of mother nature, of women as goddess, of the natural divine woman. I am something mechanical, cyborg, hybrid - which is a monster of its own" She then hates on the goddess women trope which I agree. And then goes on to say in western philosophy women are seen as nature and man is human.
_______
SIDENOTE FK SIGMUND FREUD "women are scarred because they are not men, a person without a penis is lacking"
- at the time she wrote this there was 1 clinical trial for a drug targeting PMDD directly. Our choice is ssris, pill, medical menopause.
- Houpperts theory is that rather than being driven mad by PMDD, these women are experiencing a rational level of anger to an unfair world. - "just because my well self can tolerate discomfort doesnt mean my ill self is wrong to be upset".
- Loved her bit on fluoxetine - "i am taking a drug that was tested on dogs (rats and then men) to make me a little bit less of a bitch".
ON LOVE
- When her partner says "it's not hard to be kind to you" - It melted my heart like this feels like the ultimate compliment ever and I'm stealing it to gift to others in my life.
- When her partner shouts out the car window into traffic "i love this woman'
"THE TRUTH IS FEW WOMEN KNOW WHAT IS NORMAL WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR CYCLES. THE NORM IS TO EXPECT WOMEN TO SUFFER"
"DIAGNOSING IT IS MEANT TO BE A TOOL FOR SEEKING TREATMENT - CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE IS UNABLE TO DO THE WORK THAT SUCCEEDS NAMING IT; ACTUALLY TREATING IT".
I binged this hard. I get that people are over COVID but as someone who only had the Sydney Lockdown and not the Melbourne ones like Emma, god it gave me perspective. I also have PMDD and I cannot even begin to imagine living with PMDD and a house with a partner during the Melbourne lockdowns and both working from home - I don't know how she made it through.
My only critiques are that it can sometimes be a bit disjointed. I wanted more nitty gritty details of the metaphorical beasts Emma weaves into depictions of menstruation and madness in our culture. I think the idea is soooo strong but it needed more weight to feel like it really mattered (especially since the front cover is a wolf face). I also just wanted more sciencey stuff but thats not everyones cup of tea and also it just straight up doesnt exist so that's not Emmas fault.
-" Many of the resoucrces I find about premenstrual illness are medical, scientific texts- written by men - in disembodied and abstract ways. the ilness is not lived in but observed. I find these texts distant and at times useless".
I was diagnosed at 28 and Emma i think was 25, which i feel like is quite young to get a diagnosis for it (even though its super late). I've read a bit on medical misogyny in the past so Emma's personal experience of PMDD was what really gripped me here. I was constantly underlining things. I also read this in luteal phase peak PMDD wave riding and god it hit home so hard.
TAKEAWAYS:
ON DISCOVERING HER PMDD:
- "I wasnt even sure which questions I should be asking; was this illness real? Did I really have it? If so which parts of myself were me, and which were PMDD?"
-PMDD = Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. Dysphoria (dys- evil, phoria- to carry) = An evil to carry (reminds me of the term hysterectomy it should be uterectomy) but it does feel like an evil to carry especially when theres no fkn research or representation even.
- When she talks with her psych about schemas and childhood the experience feels similar to mine, like sure i had some things in childhood that were hard but was it really that overly traumatic, she talks about this and how it leaves her with a distrust of her memory, did she forget? had she repressed? THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I FELT/FEEL
- Emma explains how she doesnt even remember when she started to feel this way, was it from the first period? but she quickly went on the pill and then the IUD (my exact trajectory aswell) She talks about how this effects how you see yourself and its so true like i dont know my baseline either. She goes through the process of getting the IUD out to find out but I also have endo and this doesnt seem doable for me at least right now- which feels like an impossible choice because treatments for PMDD and endo right now are in direct opposition to each other. Couple this with gaslighting from the med system and then capitalism crushing our connection to our bodies I constantly feel rage and confusion with trusting my body, my memory, my feelings, am I my well self or my unwell self?
- Removing her IUD is an attempt to account for variables but you can never account for them all (so relatbale) "I cannot know how I would feel were I not a caged animal, trapped indoors".
-" people describe themselves as feeling monstrous, out of control, wild, irraitonal, angry, manic. They fear what they may do, and fear that they are incapable of stopping it" - literally so true, I always wanna blow up my life and move/break up with people, cut bad fringes etc
-"I wonder at what point is an emotion just an emotion, and what point does this emotion become an illness too"
- "There are times when it catches me by surprise, times i deny i have it, only for the blood to come and my mood lift. Just because an illness is culturally constructed doesnt mean it isnt real, unconvinced that there is no biological component, i want to hold multiple realities, that PMDD can be a physical, mental and cultural illness all at once"
- A gp says to her that they dont think we were really supposed to have regular periods, throughout most of our evolution weve either been starving or pregnant, when you look at it that way a regular period is really a modern thing. - i found this interesting especially in relation to people being concerned about skipping periods when on contraception.
- People with periods are twice as likely to have adverse effects to medication
SOME OF THE MOST RELATABLE THINGS FOR ME
- "Most of the time when I am well, I forget that I was ever unwell at all. I convince myself that i am moving on a linear path through time not cycling through the same mess over and over again" ME ME ME. It's so destabilising like do I have amnesia wtf? I forget every time. I'll think i am just so depressed for 2-3 weeks then the realisation hits.
-" Each month i cant tell whether what i feel is real, or am i being driven crazy? I cant handle the small stuff and I cry over little inconvieniences. She talks about the frustration of why am i dating a man who cant wash a dish properly but I am not on bed rest, i am not dying. I feel theres 2 halves of me, one that can cope with the unprecedented (COVID) times and the other half cant. One version I can do all my tasks and the other version sees a dish out in the morning and completely melts down".
- Being inundated by all these 'diets' I feel so similar to her "Im not convinced theres any point to it at all. It seems like just another diet, another way for women to reduce, reduce, reduce. to turn their monstorus rage unto something that can be controlled, portioned off and safely consumed".
- Her partner asks is this a PMDD thing? "I feel restless, anxious, like something- anything needs to change and that breaking up might be the answer. the answer to what im unsure" - ME ME ME , on reflection she says its so obvious and yet she still has such a hard time recognising it, again mistrusting her own memories and experiences. - ME x 1000
- When her partner yells about a muscle cramp she details how she was at a chemist keeping a straight face while having horrific cramps and she adds "imagine yelling becuase you had a cramp- imagine! it sounds like a dream" - LITERALLY
- "When I am unwell, I fear myself. I am so terrified of what I might do that I can hardly do anything at all"
- " I start to wonder if what I feel during my luteal phase is justified rage at an unfair world, and the rest of the time I am just numb enough to tolerate the unfairness around me" - one of my fave quotes.
- "I wonder if I am deluding myself into thinking that this is a good idea simply because I am so terribly bored".
-"I cant understand my own illness There are days when I wake up happy and content and I cant fathom he anger of the night before. At other times, I wonder whether I use PMDD as an excuse: as my own serum, under the influence of which i have license to act badly and avoid responsibility for my actions".
-"perhaps i've always been a little feral, a little bit of a monster, and im using pathology as an excuse".
- "if i cant identify my own desire, my own appetite, my own desire, my hunger, how could i anticipate the casual relationship between my monstrous feelings and the flux of hormones I experience each month"
- On her partner: " i fear that i am devouring him ; that i am the monster and he will be my sacrifice".
- "I dont know how to respect myself when i'm like this, prostrate and static on the floor".
-" I stare at the ceiling all morning, unable to do anything, wondering if im putting it on. If i just changed my mindset, perhaps all these dramatics would fade away. I think about dying again, then tell myself im doing it for attention. I cant imagine these feelings going away" - literally me everytime.
- "THE FLOOD OF HUMILIATION/ RELIEF THAT I HAVE ONCE THE BLEEDING STARTS BECOMES SYMPTOMS ALLEVIATING UPON ONSET OF MENSES"
- "I think of how I wake up the morning of my period, blissful and oblivious to my pain from the night before. Outside of the luteal phase, I can hardly remember how distressed I was. Within the luteal phase, I can hardly remember ever being okay. I find myself severed: one self who only remembers the pain , and the one self who can barely poke at its surface. I think of all the times ive tried to remember what ive done, what im capable of, and my recollections have appeared hazy and blurred". "The shock is in remembering". "forgetting is the horror"
ON WOMANS CRIMES and MONSTERS
- Sadie Craddock back in 1980 (diagnosed now with PMDD) killed a co worker but whats interesting about this case was her suicide attempts occured every 29.55 days.
- Monster theory (Jeffrey Jerome Cohen) points that creation of monsters is a way of policing behaviour in society, ensuring people dont defy cultural norms. She then talks about the movie Carrie (she becomes a monster the moment she gets her period.
- Another example is Medusa. She only becomes a monster after she was raped by Poseidon. Her pain is so great that no one could look at her. She was monstrous because she felt too much. I had no idea of Medusas origin story. Society really just hates women so much ugh.
- Women as monsters often depicted consuming too much, wanting too much and feeling too much hunger for women is the making of a monster.
- Psychs pushed back against inclusion of PMDD in the DSM for fear of further stigmatising a normal part of menstruation. "I think of female werewolves, how they ask their doctors, the school nurse, 'what is wrong with me'? and to be tolf 'this is normal'. But by limiting its inclusion we limit the avenues available for those who cannot manage their anger- who cant function - to seek help.
-" I think it's naive to view us as other than our hormones, our biology. Perhaps the sexism stems from the ways in which we view women as susceptible to hormones and men as exempt".
- look up the pms defence.
- In horror it is usually women who devour and become monstrous. Can anyone think of examples of women quenching their hunger and it not be coded in horror?
ON CYBORGS
- Emma talks about how the pill and the IUD are technically ways that make us a cyborg and I have had this thought many times (aswell as for my metal reconstructed ankle)
"With an IUD inside me I run against the narrative of mother nature, of women as goddess, of the natural divine woman. I am something mechanical, cyborg, hybrid - which is a monster of its own" She then hates on the goddess women trope which I agree. And then goes on to say in western philosophy women are seen as nature and man is human.
_______
SIDENOTE FK SIGMUND FREUD "women are scarred because they are not men, a person without a penis is lacking"
- at the time she wrote this there was 1 clinical trial for a drug targeting PMDD directly. Our choice is ssris, pill, medical menopause.
- Houpperts theory is that rather than being driven mad by PMDD, these women are experiencing a rational level of anger to an unfair world. - "just because my well self can tolerate discomfort doesnt mean my ill self is wrong to be upset".
- Loved her bit on fluoxetine - "i am taking a drug that was tested on dogs (rats and then men) to make me a little bit less of a bitch".
ON LOVE
- When her partner says "it's not hard to be kind to you" - It melted my heart like this feels like the ultimate compliment ever and I'm stealing it to gift to others in my life.
- When her partner shouts out the car window into traffic "i love this woman'
August 5, 2026
Periodic Bitch is an exceptional blend of memoir, medical research, and cultural commentary. Emma Hardy shares her own journey with honesty and vulnerability, while seamlessly weaving in psychology, history, and science in a way that feels accessible rather than overwhelming.
What resonated with me most wasn’t just learning about PMDD, it was the broader conversation about women’s health. Through her own experience, Hardy explores how medicine has historically treated the male body as the default, leaving significant gaps in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions that disproportionately affect women. One of the most striking threads for me was her account of the contraceptive pill, so often celebrated as a tool of liberation, and its far less flattering roots in eugenics and racist medical history. I found myself constantly stopping to think, “How did I not know this?”
What sets this book apart from a straightforward medical memoir is Hardy’s use of horror and monster imagery to frame her experience, drawing on werewolves, Frankenstein, and Carrie to show how female anger and cyclical change have long been coded as something monstrous or threatening. It’s a clever device that turns what could have been a dry recitation of symptoms into something genuinely inventive, and it reframes PMDD not as something frightening in itself, but as a condition made harder by centuries of stigma and misunderstanding.
Despite confronting some deeply frustrating realities, this never felt like a hopeless read. I finished it feeling both angry and hopeful: angry that so many women, including the author, have had to fight so hard to be heard and receive appropriate care, but hopeful because awareness is growing, and because Emma’s story ultimately shows what can happen when women are believed, listened to, and given the right treatment.
This is a thoughtful, compassionate, and incredibly readable memoir that manages to educate without ever feeling like a textbook. It left me with a far greater appreciation for the complexity of women’s health, and a renewed belief that these conversations matter.
What resonated with me most wasn’t just learning about PMDD, it was the broader conversation about women’s health. Through her own experience, Hardy explores how medicine has historically treated the male body as the default, leaving significant gaps in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions that disproportionately affect women. One of the most striking threads for me was her account of the contraceptive pill, so often celebrated as a tool of liberation, and its far less flattering roots in eugenics and racist medical history. I found myself constantly stopping to think, “How did I not know this?”
What sets this book apart from a straightforward medical memoir is Hardy’s use of horror and monster imagery to frame her experience, drawing on werewolves, Frankenstein, and Carrie to show how female anger and cyclical change have long been coded as something monstrous or threatening. It’s a clever device that turns what could have been a dry recitation of symptoms into something genuinely inventive, and it reframes PMDD not as something frightening in itself, but as a condition made harder by centuries of stigma and misunderstanding.
Despite confronting some deeply frustrating realities, this never felt like a hopeless read. I finished it feeling both angry and hopeful: angry that so many women, including the author, have had to fight so hard to be heard and receive appropriate care, but hopeful because awareness is growing, and because Emma’s story ultimately shows what can happen when women are believed, listened to, and given the right treatment.
This is a thoughtful, compassionate, and incredibly readable memoir that manages to educate without ever feeling like a textbook. It left me with a far greater appreciation for the complexity of women’s health, and a renewed belief that these conversations matter.
June 1, 2026
Definitely an important book and quite cathartic to read an account of living with pmdd that’s described with so much clarity and accuracy. I did find it quite heavy at times but that’s likely because it mirrored my experiences with medication so closely. I also don’t love reading books set in Covid times personally…. would be curious to know how friends without pmdd find it!
May 26, 2026
This was a very very cool and insightful read - vulnerable and poetic. I don’t have PMDD, but reading this was a cathartic experience. Keen to see what Emma Hardy cooks up next!
Read
July 24, 2026binged this on my first week of PMDD/PCOS treatment just to feel something
May 25, 2026
Love love love love love!!! The best book about Covid so far (it’s a love story 😍) meets deep dive into monsters (literal) and PMDD. Read it in one sitting
Read
May 24, 2026I loved this. Spotted it on the shelves in store and was taken immediately. I was intrigued by the premise and I very much enjoyed the folkloric and pop culture references. Definitely worth reading for all my perimenopausal queens, this book grants us permission to be angry and sad and all those parts of ourselves that battle each month. This book found me at exactly the right time!
July 28, 2026
Myth. Menstruation. Memoir. Monsters.
May 3, 2026
This book is so amazing! I loved it from the first page to the last page. The authors voice is just so beautiful and interwoven and it was a joy to read. I just loved so much about this book, it really made me realise why I love reading. Spending a weekend in bed reading this was so satisfying. It made me learn, it made me reflect, it made laugh, hands down a book I will always recommend and what a debuting book from the author!
May 11, 2026
For a subject important to me, I wanted to like this a lot more than I did.
Did Not Finish
May 12, 2026Covid pandemic no thanks
May 3, 2026
One reviewer wrote that this was “part detective story” but for me, the inserts of essay into a memoir were jarring. I’m not sure this memoir needed to spend as much time as it did academically exploring medical misogyny in pharmaceuticals, the point could have been made within the framework of a memoir.
As someone who lived through the Melbourne (and then London) lockdowns I thought the mental health impacts of extended isolation were rendered accurately and there was real nuance in the way the writing captured feelings of stagnation, disconnection and disbelief. The author’s rendering of her own feelings around the validity of mental and physical illness rang true for me.
Would recommend for select readers.
As someone who lived through the Melbourne (and then London) lockdowns I thought the mental health impacts of extended isolation were rendered accurately and there was real nuance in the way the writing captured feelings of stagnation, disconnection and disbelief. The author’s rendering of her own feelings around the validity of mental and physical illness rang true for me.
Would recommend for select readers.
June 5, 2026
Beautiful and brilliant! Should be mandatory reading for every man who has ever said ooohhhhhh you were on your period and absolved themselves of any guilt or accountability :)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I read this as a digital ARC thanks to Allen & Unwin and Netgalley, and this is my honest review.
Period Bitch was chaotic with its meandering back and forth through topics without warning and while it was occasionally frustrating, I did appreciate how it linked and interwove the topics together. It also seemed to reflect Emma Hardy’s state of mind and how she struggled to get complete answers through her PMDD process, almost poeticly, so I can forgive it that
As someone who may also have PMDD, this book is so insightful. I know this was a memoir, and memoirs do not need to be confirmed as fact, so the emphasis on anecdotes and personal experience is the point. however, to see similarities and differences in another’s experience is so validating and helpful.
It has also made me want to know more about current and historical treatment of female patients (fact checked of course). I want to understand why women must suffer so much, but not too much (then it’s just hysterical), to receive understanding and care. Why is the pill still the answer for everything? Why are we told again and again that there is no cure, no treatment, no understanding of why something is happening (it’s always “just one of those things”)? Why does research into women’s health always feel secondary and lazy, a by product of reproduction or men’s health?
Overall though, my favourite parts of this book were the comparisons of pop culture and horror with PMDD and women’s health more generally, highlighting how things women are culturally demonised for show up in media again and again, sometimes to challenge but sometimes to reinforce. i just loved the way it gave us so many interesting and thought prokoving tidbits. I would have loved it to go deeper, I want more of this, I want essays on each minor tidbit! But here’s an example…
“In some ways, it is obvious why eating is a frequent subject in the horror genre: we do not want to be eaten. Still, time and time again, it is specifically women who devour and become monstrous. I can think of few narratives featuring women quenching their appetites that are not coded as horror. No wonder it’s when I feel like my most monstrous self that I begin to fear food. How can any woman not fear her own hunger when the act of satiation is deemed so terrific?”
4.25 ⭐️’s
Period Bitch was chaotic with its meandering back and forth through topics without warning and while it was occasionally frustrating, I did appreciate how it linked and interwove the topics together. It also seemed to reflect Emma Hardy’s state of mind and how she struggled to get complete answers through her PMDD process, almost poeticly, so I can forgive it that
As someone who may also have PMDD, this book is so insightful. I know this was a memoir, and memoirs do not need to be confirmed as fact, so the emphasis on anecdotes and personal experience is the point. however, to see similarities and differences in another’s experience is so validating and helpful.
It has also made me want to know more about current and historical treatment of female patients (fact checked of course). I want to understand why women must suffer so much, but not too much (then it’s just hysterical), to receive understanding and care. Why is the pill still the answer for everything? Why are we told again and again that there is no cure, no treatment, no understanding of why something is happening (it’s always “just one of those things”)? Why does research into women’s health always feel secondary and lazy, a by product of reproduction or men’s health?
Overall though, my favourite parts of this book were the comparisons of pop culture and horror with PMDD and women’s health more generally, highlighting how things women are culturally demonised for show up in media again and again, sometimes to challenge but sometimes to reinforce. i just loved the way it gave us so many interesting and thought prokoving tidbits. I would have loved it to go deeper, I want more of this, I want essays on each minor tidbit! But here’s an example…
“In some ways, it is obvious why eating is a frequent subject in the horror genre: we do not want to be eaten. Still, time and time again, it is specifically women who devour and become monstrous. I can think of few narratives featuring women quenching their appetites that are not coded as horror. No wonder it’s when I feel like my most monstrous self that I begin to fear food. How can any woman not fear her own hunger when the act of satiation is deemed so terrific?”
4.25 ⭐️’s
June 12, 2026
Thank you Allen & Unwin and Netgalley for an ARC of this memoir.
Emma Hardy’s memoir is founded on her living with Pre Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). It is heavily entwined within horror, myth and feminist research. It is a very well researched memoir citing numerous sources, including the criminal trial of Craddock, convicted of murder whilst likely in the throes of PMDD; and drawing on the books Raw and The Vegetarian, where hardy highlights links between raw meat and desire.
For some readers this approach will be heavily appealing, however it detracted from my reading experience. I chose this book as a memoir to understand Emma’s lived experience of having PMDD and get an understanding of this Disorder. I would be reading a sentence about Emma’s day and it would suddenly spiral into the horrors of raw meat, madness and historical mania. I admire the seamless way this occurred however it really detracted from my experience. I initiated read through these parts but they really detracted my interest in this memoir and I eventually skipped large chunks of the memoir, coming back into to Emma’s life when she returned.
The memoir is set throughout COVID lockdown and this become an often significant part do the lockdown which fitted mostly well and contributed to the experiences Emma had in those times, in isolation, pain and often hysteria. Unsurprisingly Emma came across as full of anger and I often wondered which parts of the memoir where Dinky and which parts were Emma in full PMDD hell. I most enjoyed the parts closer to the end where Emma seems to be getting the help she desperately sought, thank goodness. The medical and psychological content really brought my attention back and I was incredibly engaged in these parts however they were a shorter part of the memoir. This memoir highlights the hell those with PMDD, their loved ones and associates go through on a monthly basis. I really would love to hear Pavel’s story and experience of this, I’m sure there is a book there too. I did feel the book ended very abruptly.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this memoir. This is a memoir which would appeal to a select audience and I believe would benefit from a different summary for would be readers, perhaps one that likens it to dark, mythical horror as opposed to an investigative mystery.
Emma Hardy’s memoir is founded on her living with Pre Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). It is heavily entwined within horror, myth and feminist research. It is a very well researched memoir citing numerous sources, including the criminal trial of Craddock, convicted of murder whilst likely in the throes of PMDD; and drawing on the books Raw and The Vegetarian, where hardy highlights links between raw meat and desire.
For some readers this approach will be heavily appealing, however it detracted from my reading experience. I chose this book as a memoir to understand Emma’s lived experience of having PMDD and get an understanding of this Disorder. I would be reading a sentence about Emma’s day and it would suddenly spiral into the horrors of raw meat, madness and historical mania. I admire the seamless way this occurred however it really detracted from my experience. I initiated read through these parts but they really detracted my interest in this memoir and I eventually skipped large chunks of the memoir, coming back into to Emma’s life when she returned.
The memoir is set throughout COVID lockdown and this become an often significant part do the lockdown which fitted mostly well and contributed to the experiences Emma had in those times, in isolation, pain and often hysteria. Unsurprisingly Emma came across as full of anger and I often wondered which parts of the memoir where Dinky and which parts were Emma in full PMDD hell. I most enjoyed the parts closer to the end where Emma seems to be getting the help she desperately sought, thank goodness. The medical and psychological content really brought my attention back and I was incredibly engaged in these parts however they were a shorter part of the memoir. This memoir highlights the hell those with PMDD, their loved ones and associates go through on a monthly basis. I really would love to hear Pavel’s story and experience of this, I’m sure there is a book there too. I did feel the book ended very abruptly.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this memoir. This is a memoir which would appeal to a select audience and I believe would benefit from a different summary for would be readers, perhaps one that likens it to dark, mythical horror as opposed to an investigative mystery.
May 2, 2026
"Hormones can be debilitating, and a culture can be debilitating too."
I varied on whether I liked and believed the author, Emma Hardy, and I get the impression that she varied on liking and believing herself too. Periodic Bitch is a memoir about trying to understand symptoms that only occur some of the time, set in a chaotic time period - lockdown - in the place which had more lockdowns than any other, Melbourne. This adds doubt to the writer's voice: "I cannot account for my environment, either. I cannot know how I would feel were I not a caged animal, trapped indoors." The rest of her doubt is of course gendered medical gaslighting and a feminism that doesn't start from a base presumption of believing women.
In places Periodic Bitch reads like an honours thesis, as Hardy explores the pathologising of women's reproductive and mental ill-health, likening us to monsters. At first I found the glib summaries of other people's work a bit annoying. I've read In the Dream House for example, and I didn't necessarily take from it the same things. However the writing gets more engaging as Hardy struggles to match her periodic symptomatology with a diagnosis she agrees with—Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)—and a treatment for it that works without unwanted side effects.
What did have me cheering was Hardy's analysis of imperfect options in women's health, like pills that have unwanted side effects, and treatments not really moving on sufficiently because of the gendered disparity in medical research. As Hardy writes, "It feels unfair to subject myself to constant medication and endless side effects, to treat an illness that only plagues me some of the time." Women do deserve better. Where I flagged was in the section about Prozac working the second she took the tablet, it undermined the diagnosis being legitimate for me. For example, lines like "just because a placebo works, doesn't mean the illness isn't real."
With thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for sending me a copy to read.
I varied on whether I liked and believed the author, Emma Hardy, and I get the impression that she varied on liking and believing herself too. Periodic Bitch is a memoir about trying to understand symptoms that only occur some of the time, set in a chaotic time period - lockdown - in the place which had more lockdowns than any other, Melbourne. This adds doubt to the writer's voice: "I cannot account for my environment, either. I cannot know how I would feel were I not a caged animal, trapped indoors." The rest of her doubt is of course gendered medical gaslighting and a feminism that doesn't start from a base presumption of believing women.
In places Periodic Bitch reads like an honours thesis, as Hardy explores the pathologising of women's reproductive and mental ill-health, likening us to monsters. At first I found the glib summaries of other people's work a bit annoying. I've read In the Dream House for example, and I didn't necessarily take from it the same things. However the writing gets more engaging as Hardy struggles to match her periodic symptomatology with a diagnosis she agrees with—Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)—and a treatment for it that works without unwanted side effects.
What did have me cheering was Hardy's analysis of imperfect options in women's health, like pills that have unwanted side effects, and treatments not really moving on sufficiently because of the gendered disparity in medical research. As Hardy writes, "It feels unfair to subject myself to constant medication and endless side effects, to treat an illness that only plagues me some of the time." Women do deserve better. Where I flagged was in the section about Prozac working the second she took the tablet, it undermined the diagnosis being legitimate for me. For example, lines like "just because a placebo works, doesn't mean the illness isn't real."
With thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for sending me a copy to read.
August 3, 2026
Periods suck indeed, and they definitely make some of us women feel incredibly anxious and emotional during our cycle, and sometimes even before and after it.
In this book, the author shares what it is like to live with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, or PMDD, which is a much more severe form of PMS that can cause intense irritability, depression and emotional distress. It can have a huge impact on a person's well-being while also putting a strain on their relationships with the people closest to them.
Things became even more difficult when the author was navigating all of this during the Covid lockdown, where she was confined at home with her partner. While trying to cope with her symptoms, there was no real opportunity to step away, clear her head or have some space. I honestly couldn't imagine how exhausting and heartbreaking it must be to unintentionally hurt the people you love because of something that feels so beyond your control.
This was definitely an enlightening read because I had never even heard of PMDD before picking up this book. The author also dives into the current issues surrounding women's healthcare and highlights how little research and attention this condition has received. It was honestly frustrating to learn how many women struggle for years before finally getting the support or diagnosis they need.
That said, although the book was clearly well researched, covering both the history of PMDD and where we stand today, it somehow didn't leave me feeling as emotionally connected to the author's personal journey as I had hoped. I completely understood what she went through, but I never quite felt that emotional impact after finishing the book.
With that being said, I still think this is an important read. It raises awareness about a condition that deserves far more attention, and I genuinely think every woman should consider picking it up to learn more about PMDD and better understand just how much it can affect someone's life.
In this book, the author shares what it is like to live with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, or PMDD, which is a much more severe form of PMS that can cause intense irritability, depression and emotional distress. It can have a huge impact on a person's well-being while also putting a strain on their relationships with the people closest to them.
Things became even more difficult when the author was navigating all of this during the Covid lockdown, where she was confined at home with her partner. While trying to cope with her symptoms, there was no real opportunity to step away, clear her head or have some space. I honestly couldn't imagine how exhausting and heartbreaking it must be to unintentionally hurt the people you love because of something that feels so beyond your control.
This was definitely an enlightening read because I had never even heard of PMDD before picking up this book. The author also dives into the current issues surrounding women's healthcare and highlights how little research and attention this condition has received. It was honestly frustrating to learn how many women struggle for years before finally getting the support or diagnosis they need.
That said, although the book was clearly well researched, covering both the history of PMDD and where we stand today, it somehow didn't leave me feeling as emotionally connected to the author's personal journey as I had hoped. I completely understood what she went through, but I never quite felt that emotional impact after finishing the book.
With that being said, I still think this is an important read. It raises awareness about a condition that deserves far more attention, and I genuinely think every woman should consider picking it up to learn more about PMDD and better understand just how much it can affect someone's life.
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