Thought provoking.
I really enjoyed reading this. It is very thought provoking. I read it right after my daughter was born. I think this would be a good read again after a few years since you will be at a different place in life and new insights will be revealed.

Not just for women
Written by the Harvard Medical School author responsible for MINDING THE BODY, MENDING THE MIND, one of the best known titles in the modern era of mind/body medicine, this book focusses that insight on women. From Borysenko's opening paragraph which turns the patriarchal interpretation of Eve's culpability and Adam's temptation on its head, thru the stages of growth (divided into twelve chapters, Ages 0-7, 7-14, etc.) to concluding thoughts about retrospection and trancendance in late years, this book is a wonderful amalgam of hard science and a hopeful spirit. Her view is transcultural, and inclusive. Borysenko is among the vanguard pushing traditional medicine to view "alternative" treatment as "complementary" instead of an either/or choice. The author's doctorate is in anatomy and cellular biology, which doubtless provides credibility to those inclined to scoff at alternative medicine. This book is worthwhile for any woman and any man with women in his life.

Maybe Freud was right
This book begins as more of a rant of Borysenko's aethiest, evolutionist, and (thinly veiled) man-hating beliefs. I never agreed with much of what Freud had to say about anything, but apparently he knew there were a few Borys in the world when he explained "Penis Envy". Amazing. If I believed all women hated men like this author does, I would never open another door. Fortunately most all women in my experience are of far better character.

That aside, Bory's basic science runs hot and cold. She quotes and annotates various studies (by other people) accurately, but then she cluelessly tries to show how Einstein and quantum mechanics support some of her beliefs (pg 48). What a joke! She thinks the ancients were insensitive by referring to older women as 'crones', but then she herself refers to them as having 'dowager humps'!

There is just not enough valid science in this book to justify its price, and way too much vile opinion in it to justify its existance. It is said that psychologists often earn their doctorate degrees while in pursuit of a cure for their own problems. Apparently she got the degree, but no cure!

wonderful complement for Human Development course
I bought this book to read for extra credit while taking Human Development, a required course for the nursing program. It was a wonderful complement to the boredom of the class text. It offered deeper understanding to the traditional child psychologists, and further insights into other philopsophies. The author went to great pains to explore expert opinions on the stages of a Woman's life cycle.

A Woman's Book of Life: The Biology, Psychology and Spirituality of the Feminine Life Cycle
I love this book. I have bought numerous copies to give to my women friends. It has so much information and is a good source.
Joan Borysenko has done us all a tremendous service by writing this book.