Black Women's Guide to Health, Sex & Happiness - Wellness Tips for Self-Care, Relationships & Joy | Perfect for Busy Professionals, Moms & Students

Wife loved the bookDr. Melody T. McCloud has done it again with her new release, Living Well...Despite Catchin' Hell: The Black Woman's Guide to Health, Sex, and Happiness. Dr. Mccloud is a renowned Atlanta obstetrician-gynecologist, media consultant and national speaker who is also the author of the best seller, Blessed Health: The African-American Woman's Guide to Physical & Spiritual Well-Being.The book's forward is written by Pauletta Washington, wife of renowned actor and Academy Award winner Denzel Washington who writes, "Living Well is a comprehensive guide to help us ensure total health, and a thorough look at the issues Black women face." Living Well addresses the psycho-social factors that affect Black women's physical lives which include disparaging images in teh media, colorism, low marriage statistics, and the down-low phenomenon put Black women in a unique category.This new release is written in conversational tone and has easy-to-read and understand chapters about head-to-toe medical conditions such as cancer, AIDS, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. In one of the sections of the book, Dr. McCloud tells young ladies to "Close your legs, be well read, tend that body, and sweat that head." The author's social commentary is oftentimes direct and calls many to task . She gives a nice prescription of 'tough love' to Black men and women and celebrates the many that have done well.Living Well...Despite Catchin' Hell: The Black Woman's Guide to Health, Sex and Happiness is professional guide for medical advice, sexology, sociology, psychology, dashes of pop culture and hefty doses of personal responsibility. This book is an important guide in navigating the pressing health issues involving millions of Black women. This book is a must read for any woman of color.My wife just got this book last week and I've read through most of it; the title caught my eye. I agree with Dr. Edelin above that it should be read by women and men. The book is well researched/referenced. Some of the sex data left me speechless; young people and parents need to see it.The author's color Rejection Connection flowchart identifies ways that men and society at large have often disrespected black women and how some have disrespected themselves. McCloud calls these "social stressors" which affect women's physical health.The author holds hope for a better black community and gives prescriptions for how to get there. That's where some tough love and straight talk comes in, but it's well expressed and much needed. Sometimes we don't like the truth. There's medical information, some humor, some personal anecdotes and even some steamy poems, as well (Hey!). The doctor is also a poet--all we need is some music and there'd be a song.Overall, we both think this book is a comprehensive well-written guide to better living for all.The shaded boxes and bar graphs give visual texture throughout the book; it's not just all words. That made the topics stand out. The STD statistics are eye-opening. Seeing the graphs was like seeing a "picture", and I hadn't seen the information presented like that before. The author doesn't use the term African-American, she only uses Black American, and she steps on some toes, so there are sure to be some conversations started with this one! To young girls, Dr. McCloud advises them to "Close Your Legs, Be Well Read, Tend that Body and Sweat that Head." The index (in my copy) is not complete, but maybe will be expanded next time. The bibliography was extensive and crossed many spectrums--medicine, pop culture, social issues. I recommend the book.