Mama Gena’s School of Womanly Arts by Regena Thomashauer

This was the book at the bottom of my TBR. I found myself in a slump and when I’m in a book funk I tend to choose a book that I can check off some mental checklist. This book was given to me by an actor on the first high-level professional play I worked on (read: 2010) and I had NEVER picked it up until recently, but BOY was it the WRONG TIME for this book in my life.

Mama Gena’s is a self help guide to empowering women to find their own pleasure, to break out of society’s molds. I’m am all for that, but I had to DNF. For one, I no longer hear to the “woman” gender, so I was constantly self-editing to make it less woman-centric, which takes all the power out of this book altogether.

I’m also a big believer that self-help books only work if they come at the right time. You cannot force self-help and the person the actor gave this book to, that young, timid, prudish girl is LONG GONE. I won’t say that I’m already living the tenents of this book, but I found myself reading it out of obligation to someone who probably doesn’t remember giving it to me and not for me.

There’s a sticky note above my computer, “read what you want.” And I didn’t want to read an obligation.

This book would be perfect for WOMEN who are looking to indulge themselves in self-care, who want the RahrahRah of a sisterhood, who long for the company of wicca without the witchcraft, or a bacchnalia without the dismemberment. If that sounds like your jam, you can have my copy of this book. -Ford