A Woman's Life: The discovery of an ancient Isrealite and Babylonian purification ritual Paperback – March 25, 2026

This book is a work of historical anthropology that tells the story of how the author discovered an ancient post-menstruation purification ritual. How the ritual came to be discovered is a story in itself because the ritual was not simply forgotten, like a leaf falling in the forest, the exiled Israelite priests of the sixth century BC quite deliberately re-wrote history, knowing that in doing so it would deprive women of their place in society. Normally, such an important discovery would be written up as an academic paper and presented to one of the established anthropological journals for publication so that it could be peer reviewed and challenged and then, perhaps ten years down the road, someone would include his version in a book aimed at the general public. But that is not me. I am now seventy-seven years old and cannot be sure I will even be here ten years down the road. And I am not even sure it should be left to a bunch of crusty old male academics to review a work on the subject of menstruation. For that reason I have written this book for ordinary, non-academic women. This is womens' history, the story of how they were once considered blessed by the Goddess. So the book will not be a difficult read, but more a conversation as I tell you the story of the ritual's discovery. Read more