Check out "The Healthy Woman" in local bookstores now

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office on Women's Health has put together a very helpful book that empowers women to have easy access to basic information on just about every health category. The Healthy Woman; A Complete Guide for All Ages can be found in bookstores around the country, including Barnes & Noble and Borders, as well as directly from the U.S. Government Bookstore.

Not to pat my own back, but I was a contributor to the book within the Mental Health chapter. I was asked to share my PPD story, which I did gladly and with the hope that it might reach other moms out there who are searching for information.

The book also includes a tremendous list of resources, from non-profit health organizations to providers. You can even find treatment options for various conditions and where to find the help you need when something is wrong. But the most powerful sections in the book are the personal stories, where women share their health experiences. A California woman wrote of her experience suffering from numbness in her hand and "heaviness" in her chest, and being diagnosed with acid reflux. It turned out that what she really had was premature heart disease and, shockingly, within just hours of her correct diagnosis she underwent open-heart surgery. I loved her following quote, which of course would apply to any health condition that a woman is dealing with: "We must make ourselves our number one cause and, as with me, be given another chance at life."