The Female Brain by Louann Brozendine: Book Review

I learned so much these past few weeks, while reading The Female Brain by Louann Brozendine. The Female brain is a National Bestseller and a personal favorite in my book club.

I am aware of the major events that a woman may go through in her life; which is generally based on how she feels, and how she sets her priorities. I was not aware however that the way a woman feels, and the way in which she places her priorities in order is based on the chemical al makeup of a her brain.

Many of the things that doctors and scientist are learning today, Allah has mentioned in the Quran over 1400 years ago.

Allah (swt) says in the Quran
How can you deny Allah and you were without life and he gave you life? Again , he will cause you to die and again bring you to life, then you shall be brought back to him.

He it is who created for you all that is in the earth. And he directed himself to the heaven, so he made then complete seven heavens, and se is the knower of all things.

Surah 2:28-29

At thirty years old, having a mother and Grandmother that have been through these life experiences, you would think that this type of information would be passed on from daughter to daughter as some type of introduction to womanhood.

Often we hear and or read about teenage puberty, men and boys and their testosterone; but what is being learned about women, estrogen and their brain makeup is fairly recent.

We know that omen can be moody, and highly emotional at times more than others, but did you know that is has to do with the levels of estrogen or lack thereof in the body.

The levels of oxytocin are what make a woman protective of her children, and also create the priority to take care of others before her.

During the women's rights movement, women spent a lot of time trying to prove that we are equal to men and that we can do what they can do, and even better. But this was not Allah( swt) intention when he created us.

If women were made just like men; who would be the caretakers, who would maintain the home, and make it aesthetically pleasing, who would organize, and remember to send thank you cards etc. Sure there are some men who are good at these things, but most are not, and this is probably something they learned from their mothers.

Men were created to be maintainers and protectors of women, financially, and physically, and they have that right over us; they were created with that makeup and their brains are wired for that purpose.

Women were created to be caretakers, patients, soft, and gentle for their children and the society around them. It does not limit our intelligence; it simply places it in a different part of our brain in order for efficient communication and more. This is why women are better with words, and communication.

" One out of the thirty thousand genes in the human genome, the less than one percent variation between the sexes is small. But that percentage difference influences every single cell in our bodies."

A women and man differentiate the perception of pain, pleasure, thoughts, feelings, and emotions, and therefore display a different reaction to them.

The male brain is about 9% larger than the female brain however we have the same number of brain cells. Women's brains are just packed closer together, because we have smaller skulls.

To my astonishment, I learned that a woman's brain changes everyday, about 25% every month, now wonder why we are so apt to growing mentally, where as men grow at a slower rate, but continue for a longer periods, mentally and physically.

Just as there is childhood development, and children go through various stages in life, so do adults, and for women it begins at birth and continues until about age 60 or 70, almost the average women's lifetime.

Did you know that Baby girls focus more on faces as infants than boys? Little girls sympathies with an upset or sad face more than boys, and will often time mirror what they see in their own mothers.

I will never forget the time I saw my mother cry, and began to cry as well. She asked, " Why are you crying," I said, " because you are crying." and this stuck with me over the years, and at time I was about seven.

The teen-age girls brain also goes through major transition. A priority is set on bonding with other girls; perhaps this is to create that network needed when it comes to raising our children. And for boys their changes and increase of testosterone is to build muscles and prepare for fatherhood. That is why sex is on their mind several times a day.

It was never meant for women to raise their children alone, but to assist one another, and raise one another's children together, and provide that support that we all wished for today.

As we grow as women our brains natural makeup also affects the way and whom we love and trust, and how we display this sexually.

As we become a parent that is what our brain focuses on and becomes priority. Like a bear in the wild, protecting her cub at any and all expenses, even from the father.

And as we continue to grow, and our children grow and leave the nest, our brains change more, preparing us to set priorities on self again. As we grow older we may feel a little selfish as we begin to think about our self and our likes, dislikes and preferences.

This is our brain doing what it does naturally. We have been care takers for so long, now its time to get back to our hobbies, and possibly go back to school etc.

With that being said I wonder how society and having children at a later age affects the women, and does her brain make alterations for the environment.

Looking back, women were done having children by their late 20's and by time they were in their late 30's early forties women had that time to place themselves as a priority and play the grandparent role.

In today's society more than ever before, we see women just getting married at thirty, because their focus was on career, and having children in their mid thirties and forties.

Almost making it impossible to help their daughters as they become mothers, and play the grandparent role.

The affect of society, and how it has changed the role for women, but has it changed the way our minds work, and has it been for the better in the long run?