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A plain-English book by Judy Evans ND, naturopath and herbalist

“…see that wicker chair over there…”

At 27, Judy Evans couldn't explain the anger that arrived every month before her period. It took her fifteen years, and a newspaper advert, to understand why.

By Judy Evans ND, Dip. Herb

Read EMPOWER Yourself: £17 eBook

Instant download. One payment, no subscription.

EMPOWER Yourself by Judy Evans ND, book cover

Foreword by Dame Annette Montague-Thomas, founder of the Global Natural Healthcare Trust.

The complete eBook: 20 chapters, each followed by Judy's own "Author's Reflections". eBook: £17. Add the audiobook, read by Judy, for £7 on the order form.

"Explain the feelings."

Judy was 27. Her husband was in the RAF, and they were living at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire. Her period was about three days away.

She'd had PMS since her late teens, at a time when no one ever spoke about it. Every month it came back. Irritable. Low. Angry, and close to tears. And everything in her life was good.

I'll let her tell the next part.

"One time my husband said to me, why are you feeling like this? Explain the feelings."

She couldn't, not in words. The only way she could describe it was to point across the room.

"…see that wicker chair over there, I said, I, I just feel like picking it up and smashing it to pieces, little pieces, until it was completely broken, and I don't know why. And then I burst into tears."

"It's a wonder he didn't divorce me".

He didn't. But it would be fifteen years before Judy understood what had been going on.

Many women know a version of that moment.

It isn't always a chair. Sometimes it's the bin, or the fridge door, or a sharp word at someone who didn't deserve it. Usually it comes with the same four words: "I don't know why."

Ask a room of women in their forties how they've been, and many of them won't start with periods or flushes. They'll say "I'm just not myself." Usually before the coat's off. Usually with an apology.

Ask what they mean and it gets specific. Sleep that has gone light and broken. A worry that turns up at four in the morning. Anxiety in women who have never had it before. A week before each period that feels like someone else's week. Periods arriving heavier, or closer together.

And very often, a conversation that ended with "it's normal for your age".

It may well be common. But common isn't the same as explained.

"Your body isn't broken. It's communicating."

That's how Judy puts it in EMPOWER Yourself, her book about how women's hormones work together.

In Judy's experience, most women have heard a great deal about oestrogen. Far fewer have had anyone explain progesterone, or how the two are meant to work as a pair. Judy describes the hormones as an orchestra. The book explains, in plain English, what can change when one section goes quieter, sometimes years before anyone says "menopause".

Judy Evans ND is a naturopath and herbalist, qualified in 2006. Judy has worked with thousands of women since 1996.

Foreword by Dame Annette Montague-Thomas, founder of the Global Natural Healthcare Trust.

The complete eBook: 20 chapters, each followed by Judy's own "Author's Reflections". eBook: £17. Add the audiobook, read by Judy, for £7 on the order form.

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Instant download. One payment, no subscription. Read it on your phone, tablet, e-reader or computer (with a free ePub reader).

Inside the book

Fifteen years, from a wicker chair to a newspaper advert

Some years later, the RAF posted Judy's husband to Cyprus for three years. They lived at the foot of Mount Olympus. The whole family learned to water ski in the summer and snow ski in the winter. The children were 10 and 7.

Judy didn't drink. She did step aerobics three times a week and swam most days, and she ate the Mediterranean diet you'd expect. By any measure it was a wonderful life. And still:

"every month I felt this darkness just descend upon me"

She knew it was coming. She'd tell herself to ride it out, because once her period came, it lifted.

"but when it came there was nothing you could do, it was pretty desperate, you felt so low, the black moods were indescribable".

If doing everything right had been the answer, Judy would have found it in Cyprus.

The doctor who asked about gin

Back in England, she went to the doctor again. In those days, PMS was often put down to being "all in the mind".

This doctor was kind. He told her he knew PMS was real: he had a wife and four daughters. Then he put his chin in his hand, and Judy remembers what came next.

"…looked at me and said, well, do you like gin? So I knew then, it was a funny comment, but I knew then there was no hope".

Judy, you'll remember, didn't drink.

He wasn't unkind. He believed her. He simply had nothing more to offer, and Judy still had no explanation.

At 42, another explanation

At 42, a young doctor thought she might be going through an early menopause.

Judy wanted to understand more. She borrowed what the library had on hormones. None of it went into the detail she was looking for.

The newspaper advert

By 1996 the family were back in England, living in married quarters in Somerset. Under an article in a national newspaper, Judy saw an advertisement for a book by Dr John Lee.

"So the book was advertised. I ordered it right away. It sounded intriguing."

"It just all fell into place."

Reading Dr Lee's book, Judy found the explanation she'd been looking for since RAF Benson. In her words:

"But having read the book, I was amazed to see how much sense it made, the logic. It just all fell into place. I really started to understand how hormones work. I was being educated about what really goes on in our bodies and through the different stages of womanhood."

What she found was an explanation. How the hormones work together. What goes on through the different stages of womanhood. And why the pattern she'd lived with since her teens finally made sense to her.

What Judy did with it

She went back to studying. Today Judy is a naturopath and herbalist, qualified in 2006. In 1997 she travelled from South Somerset to Bolton to hear Dr Lee speak, and thousands of women have come to Judy since 1996.

EMPOWER Yourself is what she has learned since that advert, written down in plain English and in one place. In the book, she puts it like this:

"This book exists because so many women have spent years searching for answers to symptoms that were dismissed as psychological, 'normal for your age,' or an inevitable part of being female."

Our guarantee

The understanding guarantee. Read it. If EMPOWER Yourself doesn't help you understand what's going on and why, email info@progesteronelink.com within 30 days of buying and we'll refund you in full. This doesn't affect your statutory rights.

Read EMPOWER Yourself: £17 eBook

Instant download. One payment, no subscription.

What's inside EMPOWER Yourself

The eBook is about 68,500 words: 20 chapters, each followed by Judy's "Author's Reflections", where most of her own stories live. There are references for each chapter and a recommended reading list at the back.

Foreword by Dame Annette Montague-Thomas, founder of the Global Natural Healthcare Trust.

A few of the things it explains:

The introduction: "the hormone conversation we were never taught", and where Judy's line "Your body isn't broken. It's communicating." comes from.
Chapter 1: the orchestra. The three oestrogens, and Judy's naturopathic view of "oestrogen dominance" as a question of proportion, with the violins "drowning out the lower instruments".
Chapter 2: progesterone, which Judy calls "the master hormone": what it is, and where in the month it's made.
Chapter 3: the changes many women notice at each stage of womanhood, from their twenties to after the menopause, and why Judy pays such close attention to when in the month they turn up.
Chapter 4: the two halves of the menstrual cycle, and the changes that can follow having a baby.
Chapter 5: stress and cortisol, and why Judy calls some of what follows "not a failure of willpower".
Chapter 6: the thyroid's role in energy and mood.
Chapter 8: weight, looked at as "information rather than failure".
Chapter 9: sleep, and why so many women describe waking in the early hours, "often between 2 and 4 a.m.".
Chapter 18: why the body can't turn wild yam into progesterone, and why a naturopath says so.

There are chapters on the gut, on mood and memory, on skin and hair, and more. Every one ends with Judy's reflections.

Who it's for

EMPOWER Yourself was written for the woman who:

wants to understand why before she decides anything
has been told "it's normal for your age" and would like the fuller explanation
would rather read plain English than medical jargon
likes to walk into a GP appointment with better questions
prefers a warm, experienced British voice to hype

Who it isn't for

Anyone looking for a diet plan or an overnight answer.
Anyone hoping for a diagnosis. That's a conversation for a GP.
Anyone after a book against doctors or modern medicine. Judy writes that she has "always believed strongly in an integrated approach to health".

About Judy

Judy Evans ND, Dip. Herb, qualified in naturopathy and herbal medicine at the College of Naturopathic & Complementary Medicine, 2006. Judy has worked with thousands of women since 1996.

She is 72 this year. She was an RAF wife for many years, and she met Dr John Lee at several of his talks and lectures during his visits to the UK.

In the book, she explains why she writes woman-to-woman:

"Being a woman myself, and having gone through all the stages of womanhood, is a distinct advantage because I truly understand how women feel as their hormones change."

The offer

EMPOWER Yourself (eBook)

The complete eBook by Judy Evans ND, about 68,500 words.
20 chapters, each followed by Judy's "Author's Reflections".
Foreword by Dame Annette Montague-Thomas, founder of the Global Natural Healthcare Trust.
References for each chapter and a recommended reading list.
A download link by email as soon as you've ordered. Read it on your phone, tablet, e-reader or computer (with a free ePub reader).

Fifteen years of looking, and what Judy has learned since, in one book you can start reading tonight.

eBook: £17. One payment.

If you'd rather listen, the order form also lets you add the audiobook, read by Judy herself, for £7. Entirely up to you.

Read EMPOWER Yourself: £17 eBook

Instant download. One payment, no subscription.

Questions

What exactly am I buying?
The eBook of EMPOWER Yourself by Judy Evans ND. After you order, you'll get an email with a link to download it as an ePub file.

What can I read it on?
An ePub opens in Apple Books or Google Play Books on a phone or tablet, on most e-readers, and on a computer with a free ePub reader such as Calibre. If you have a Kindle, Amazon's free Send to Kindle service will add it to your library.

Is it a subscription?
No. One payment of £17, and that's it.

Is there an audiobook?
Yes, read by Judy. You can add it on the order form for £7.

Is it only for women going through the menopause?
No. Chapter 3 follows the changes from the twenties to after the menopause, and Judy's own story starts with PMS in her late teens.

Does it replace a conversation with my GP?
No. It's written to help a woman understand what's happening and take better questions into that conversation. Any decision about treatment, including HRT, belongs with a GP or another healthcare professional.

What if it isn't for me?
Email info@progesteronelink.com within 30 days and we'll refund you in full.

Who am I buying from?
Judy Evans, a sole trader. Questions about your order go to info@progesteronelink.com.

One step

Judy was 27 when she pointed at the wicker chair, and 42 when the explanation finally came. EMPOWER Yourself puts it in plain English, in one place.

Read EMPOWER Yourself: £17 eBook

Instant download. One payment, no subscription. 30-day understanding guarantee.

P.S. In case you were wondering: there were two wicker chairs at RAF Benson, and Judy's husband still remembers them. Both, she says, stayed in one piece until they were no longer needed. The explanation took a little longer. It's in the book.

Please note

EMPOWER Yourself is an educational book. It doesn't diagnose or treat any condition, and it isn't a substitute for advice from your GP or another healthcare professional.

About Judy

Working with women since 1996

Judy Evans ND, Dip. Herb, qualified in naturopathy and herbal medicine at the College of Naturopathic & Complementary Medicine, 2006. Judy has worked with thousands of women since 1996.

Contact

Judy Evans ND, Dip. Herb

Tel: 01935 474343
Email: info@progesteronelink.com

Disclaimer

EMPOWER Yourself is an educational book. It doesn't diagnose or treat any condition, and it isn't a substitute for advice from your GP or another healthcare professional.