Normalize It - by Jessica Zucker (Hardcover)

About the Book

"It's time to start speaking up about the all-too-common, but under-acknowledged, taboos women navigate throughout their lives. In her critically acclaimed, groundbreaking book I HAD A MISCARRIAGE, Jessica Zucker boldly exposed the silence, stigma, and shame that surround pregnancy loss and demonstrated the need to normalize conversations around painful reproductive events that too often go unspoken. In NORMALIZE IT, Zucker expands her lens to address a multitude of challenges women face--including girlhood, body image, motherhood, reproductive choice, sexual trauma, menopause, and more--that so often incite shame and overwhelming cultural pressure to stay silent. Based on patient stories, coupled with cutting-edge psychological research, Zucker fearlessly shares her insights into the shame and stigma that shroud so many women's experiences and explores the liberation that can follow when we get vulnerable and talk about the hard stuff. Normalize It is a nuanced look at what it means to be a woman that will make readers feel seen, heard, and empowered to tell their stories. By normalizing talking about difficult things, Zucker opens the door to creating cultural change that acknowledges and supports women's truths. NORMALIZE IT is the mirror, the motivator, and the manifesto you've been waiting for. is the mirror, the motivator, and the manifesto you've been waiting for."--Back cover.

Book Synopsis

It's time to start speaking up about the all-too-common, but under-acknowledged, taboos women navigate throughout their lives.

In her critically acclaimed, groundbreaking book I Had a Miscarriage, Jessica Zucker boldly exposed the silence, stigma, and shame that surround pregnancy loss and demonstrated the need to normalize conversations around painful reproductive events that too often go unspoken.

In Normalize It, Zucker expands her lens to address a multitude of challenges women face--including girlhood, body image, motherhood, reproductive choice, sexual trauma, menopause, and more--that so often incite shame and overwhelming cultural pressure to stay silent. Based on patient stories, coupled with cutting-edge psychological research, Zucker fearlessly shares her insights into the shame and stigma that shroud so many women's experiences and explores the liberation that can follow when we get vulnerable and talk about the hard stuff.

Normalize It is a nuanced look at what it means to be a woman that will make readers feel seen, heard, and empowered to tell their stories. By normalizing talking about difficult things, Zucker opens the door to creating cultural change that acknowledges and supports women's truths.

Normalize It is the mirror, the motivator, and the manifesto you've been waiting for.

Review Quotes

"As Zucker expertly argues in her groundbreaking book, motherhood so often defines women--whether they have children or not. Normalize It includes incredible insight into the many ways stereotypes--how women 'should' feel, think, and act at any given moment--keep us silent about our truths. A must-read for any woman looking to better understand the roots of shame."

--Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play

"I read Normalize It in one sitting, nodding and screaming 'Yes, girl!' at every chapter. It tackles so many of the stigmas that women face with clarity and conviction and left me feeling seen. It also prompted me to ask the difficult questions of myself and my friends, leading to intimacy, connection, and freedom. Zucker's unflinching yet empathic look at the way stigma shapes women's lives in pivotal moments including menstruation, miscarriage, and menopause is revolutionary."

--Alua Arthur, death doula and New York Times bestselling author of Briefly Perfectly Human

"This book could not have arrived at a better moment. Normalize It is an unflinching look at the way stigma shapes women's lives beginning in girlhood and a beacon of hope for the profound change that arises from the simple act of telling our stories."

--Christy Turlington Burns, founder and president of Every Mother Counts

About the Author

Jessica Zucker, PhD, is a Los Angeles-based clinical psychologist specializing in reproductive and maternal mental health. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, Vogue, and Harvard Business Review, among other publications. She is the creator of the viral #IHadaMiscarriage campaign and has been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, and NPR . Dr. Zucker is the author of the award-winning book I Had a Miscarriage: A Memoir, a Movement.