Jessica Biel is the author of a new children鈥檚 book focused on destigmatizing and normalizing the conversation around menstruation.
鈥淎 Kids Book About Periods鈥 is 鈥渄esigned to inspire positive conversations between children and adults,鈥 according to an official , and was inspired by Biel鈥檚 own personal experience getting her period for the first time.
In an with Women鈥檚 Health published on Wednesday, Biel said her mom told her she 鈥渁bsolutely prepared鈥 her daughter for the milestone. But the 鈥淪inner鈥 star went on to admit that she had no recollection of such conversation, and even said she thought she 鈥渨as dying鈥 when she got her period for the first time.
鈥淲e have to change the feeling around how we talk about this thing,鈥 she said. She added that even though people like her mom helped prepare her, she wasn鈥檛 open to listening 鈥渂ecause of the cultural shame around it.鈥
That 鈥渃ultural shame鈥 that Biel experienced is something she鈥檚 aiming to dispel with 鈥淎 Kids Book About Periods,鈥 which she hopes will help better inform children today.
鈥淭his book provides positive information about how periods work,鈥 the book鈥檚 synopsis reads. 鈥淚t helps to show children aged 7-9 that periods are normal and that getting your period is actually pretty cool.鈥
Even her own two sons 鈥 Silas, 9, and Phineas, 3, whom she shares with Justin Timberlake 鈥 aren鈥檛 immune to learning about the topic in their home. In fact, the book is dedicated to them.
Biel said that she does plan to one day read the book to her boys, but that in the meantime, 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e creating a very calm and kind of normalized feeling around it.鈥
鈥淎 Kids Book About Periods鈥 is on Kindle and as a hardcover available now.