PERIODS by Florence Ann Marlowe

This is a great story. It will make it into my best of list for 2008. I was so disgusted at one point that I had to stop listening at one point and I considered not turning returning, but I’m so glad that I finished it.

This is a story that I’m sure will haunt any woman. I can’t completely understand the physicality of a woman’s monthly, as I am not a woman, but this story has brought me one step closer. The level of detail is completely disturbing, told from the first person the listener is drawn into Nancy’s world.

Nancy has been menstruating for more than 3 weeks. When the story opens she is a doctor’s office seeking help and advice. The doctor is a creepy guy. He keeps flaring his nostrils and is completely distant. Nancy can’t believe that she picked a male gynecologist. She knows he is laughing at her stories about going through 4 boxes of tampons in two weeks.

However, the doctor gives her some hormones and vitamins and sends her on her way, but he wants to see her again in 3 days.

In those three days, Nancy gets worse and worse and…we’ll if you’re interested in finding out what happens, you’ll just need to download the story and listen.

As for the writing, it was amazing, like I said; this will make my top five stories of 2008. The language is grounded in detail. The plot is sparse and seems to flow with ease in-between delicately horrifying moments of discomfort and character building.

Marlowe, Florence Ann. Periods. Pseudopod, 112, October 17, 2008