"The Moon Within" hopes to counter shame about menstruation

At first, we thought of introducing Aida Salazar’s coming-of-age story as appropriate for Women’s History Month.

But as the author told Lulu Garcia-Navarro on Weekend Edition, it hits upon other types of history as well.

The Moon Within is about the moon ceremony that will celebrate eleven-year-old Celi’s first period and also includes lines from a pre-Colombian collection of Mayan poetry.

Listen to Salazar discuss her inspiration for the book below or read a transcript of her conversation with Garcia-Navarro on NPR’s website.