Sweetening the Pill
by Holly Grigg-Spall

Is it really true? Has contraception liberated or oppressed women?

Millions of healthy women take a powerful medication every day from their mid-teens to menopause - the Pill - but few know how this drug works or the potential side effects. Contrary to cultural myth, the birth-control pill impacts on every organ and function of the body, and yet most women do not even think of it as a drug. Depression, anxiety, paranoia, rage, panic attacks - just a few of the effects of the Pill on half of the over 80% of women who pop these tablets during their lifetimes.

When the Pill was released, it was thought that women would not submit to taking a medication each day when they were not sick. Now the Pill is making women sick.

However, there are a growing number of women looking for non-hormonal alternatives for preventing pregnancy. In a bid to spark the backlash against hormonal contraceptives, this book asks: Why can't we criticize the Pill?

Reviews:
Thank you! Grigg-Spall hit the the mark with this book. The pill always struck me as wrong for a multitude of reasons. I am so glad so many younger women are coming around to see it as the toxin it is. Yes, this is one great book and well worth reading- and giving as a gift to our daughters, nieces, other female friends. Kudos on a very well written and insightful book! ~ Catherine Hankins, Cleveland Public Library Brooklyn Branch
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Holly Grigg-Spall is fearless, and her courageous advocacy on behalf of women whose stories are too often silenced is a model for others trying to make positive change through health activism. Read the book and get inspired, get angry, and most importantly get information. Sweetening the Pill is exactly the thing needed to energize and mobilize this important women's health conversation.

~ Laura Eldridge, author of In Our Control: The Complete Guide to Contraceptive Choices for Women
Holly Grigg-Spall effectively melts the candy coating that obscures a simple truth: what we don’t know, can indeed hurt us. Sweetening the Pill, equal parts personal journey, investigative journalism and feminist manifesto, cracks open the paternalist and corporate-driven ethos of self-improvement that undermines women’s body literacy. We’ve got to demand better: more transparency, more options and more support for self-determined health care. Getting there begins with the kind of courageous inquiry Grigg-Spall inspires.

~ Chris Bobel, associate professor of Women’s Studies at University of Massachusetts Boston and author of New Blood: Third Wave Feminism and the Politic
In Sweetening the Pill, Holly Grigg-Spall lays out the reality of hormonal contraception, and the ubiquitous political and commercial interests at play, with breathtaking precision. With most young women using these drugs, and providers cynically side-stepping informed consent and respectful consultation, this is a core and urgent issue of our time. If you are interested in teen girl and womens' health, and the wellbeing and evolution of society as a whole, read Sweetening the Pill. It's a riveting read and a powerful tool for change.

~ Jane Bennett, co-author of The Pill: Are You Sure It’s For You? and The Natural Fertility Management Contraception Kit and A Blessing Not A Curse.
We discovered in the ‘70s that the personal is political. Holly Grigg-Spall starts with her and other women’s personal experiences with the Pill, then thoughtfully and thoroughly considers it scientifically, medically and philosophically to discover the political truth of the Pill. She shares strategies for finding new ways to control our fertility while regaining control of our destiny. Grigg-Spall’s careful study on the Pill’s effect on women’s health is long, long overdue. We are so busy fighting to keep hormonal birth control available that we don’t want to question what it is doing to our health and our lives. After reading this book, we can never see the Pill in the same way again.

~ Carol Downer, veteran women’s health activist and author of A New View of a Woman’s Body, How to Stay Out of the Gynecologist’s Office, A Woman’s Book
Oral contraceptives have done so much for so many, but when they don't stand up to scrutiny, women have a right to know more.

Sweetening The Pill is a fascinating and up-to-the-minute account of the persistent questions around the effects of birth-control pills. Holly Grigg-Spall's cross-cultural perspective provides keen insights into the impact of the latest US health care initiatives.

Consolidating personal testimonies, current thought and the controversy surrounding the widespread and prolonged use of oral contraception, this book is a toolkit for action.

~ Chella Quint is a writer, performer and educator at Adventures in Menstruating.