Porter Square Books: Boston Edition and Grub Street are delighted to present the latest installment of the Grubbie Debut event series, featuring debut author Shalene Gupta! Join us for a celebration of her book The Cycle: Confronting the Pain of Periods and PMDD, on Tuesday, February 27 at Porter Square Books: Boston Edition (50 Liberty Dr. Boston, Ma 02210). Author Michelle Bowlder will join Gupta in conversation, and the author talk will be followed by a signing line.

A groundbreaking exploration of a debilitating disorder that’s underdiagnosed and misunderstood.

Most days, Shalene Gupta was the person she’d always aspired to be. She was hardworking, excelled at work, and had a long-term boyfriend who she desperately loved.

Then, every month like clockwork, it all came crashing down in fits of rage and inconsolable sorrow. Work became meaningless, and she struggled to get through the day. The lows were subterranean.

After years of struggling to get an answer from doctors, Shalene learned she was one of millions who live with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a severe form of PMS. The physical and mental effects of this disorder are undeniable, but for decades some doctors didn’t even consider PMDD a real condition. How could so many people be suffering at the hands of a chronic condition that doesn’t even exist?

The Cycle uncovers a hidden epidemic, delivering the definitive portrait of a widespread chronic illness most people haven’t even heard of. From a historical overview of feminist debates, to on-the-ground interviews and a searing critique of menstrual stigma, Shalene Gupta lays out how disregard for this disorder has left too many people scrambling for appropriate healthcare. Deeply researched, movingly intimate, and refreshingly hopeful, this book is essential reading for any curious reader, especially those navigating a world ill-equipped to support their health.

Shalene Gupta is the author of The Cycle: Confronting the Pain of Periods and PMDD, and co-author of The Power of Trust: How Companies Build It, Lose It, Regain It (Public Affairs, 2021). Her work has appeared in several publications including The Atlantic, ESPN, Fast Company, Fortune and Harvard Business Review. In the past she was a reporter for Fortune, taught English in Malaysia on a Fulbright scholarship, and worked at the Department of Treasury. She has a masters degree from Columbia Journalism School.

Michelle Bowdler is the author of Is Rape a Crime? A Memoir, an Investigation and a Manifesto, longlisted for the National Book Award in Nonfiction and named a 100 Must Read book by TIME Magazine. Her work has appeared in two anthologies and she has been published in the New York Times, Ms. Magazine, Psychology Today, Literary Hub, Cognescenti, Hippocampus, and other literary journals. She is the recipient of a 2017 Barbara Deming Memorial Award for non-fiction and has been a fellow at both MacDowell and Ragdale. She has a second book in progress that will be published in late 2024 by Basic Books.

Grubbie Debut: Shalene Gupta, author of The Cycle: Confronting the Pain of Periods and PMDD, in conversation with Michelle Bowlder