Aster acquires GP Dr Nighat Arif’s  ‘essential women’s health bible’ The Knowledge 

Aster, part of the Octopus Publishing Group, has announced the debut book from general practitioner Dr Nighat Arif, The Knowledge: Your Guide to Female Health – From Menstruation to the Menopause.

Publisher Stephanie Jackson acquired world rights, all languages from Louise Leftwich at DML Talent. The Knowledge will be published on 20th July 2023.

The publisher describes it as “an extensive guidebook designed to help everyone better understand each of the three key stages of a woman’s life: the puberty years, the fertility years and the peri/menopausal years."

It goes on: “Every step of the way, Dr Nighat will help you get to know the female body by explaining what is normal, what to expect, how to care for yourself and when to seek help. The book will tackle many important topics: from the help available for people with conditions like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome to the symptoms of heart disease to look out for in women.

“The Knowledge is for everyone – and encompasses all experiences, including the perspectives of women of colour, people of all abilities and cultures, and the transgender community to ensure that all groups affected by female health concerns are a part of vital conversations. This will be a life-saving book for all genders, ages and communities. From the young preteen hoping to understand their first period, to the couple experiencing fertility issues, to the single father raising teenage daughters, to the person unknowingly experiencing early signs of gynaecological cancer: this book will be an indispensable asset for us all.”

Arif is a GP specialising in women’s health and family planning with more than 16 years of experience in the NHS and private practice. She was nominated for the National Bevan Prize for Health and Wellbeing to acknowledge her exceptional commitment to advancing wellbeing in her community. She has worked to raise awareness on menopause and women’s healthcare in Black and Asian women, and presented her clinical work at the Menopause in the Workplace Parliamentary committee hearing.

She has also worked with Team Halo, a United Nation (UN) initiative to bring an end to the pandemic and presented at the G7 Global Vaccine Confidence Summit that led to her being awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Science at London City University for Women’s Health, Public Health and Inclusion.

She is also a resident doctor on “BBC Breakfast”, ITV’s “This Morning” and “BBC LookEast”, hosts her own Sunday Breakfast show on BBC3 Counties Radio and was a contributor on the Channel 4 documentary “Davina McCall: Sex, Lies and the Menopause”.

Jackson said of the announcement: “There hasn’t been a book that’s really spoken clearly, simply and inclusively to everyone who wants to understand female health concerns at any time of life – until now. The Knowledge gives us all a foundation for understanding the anatomy, the exams, the changes and the challenges that can be faced at key life stages. It equips us to care for ourselves and to support those we love, and provides the vital information necessary to ensure that optimum health is maintained and the best possible care options are understood, selected and provided by and for the people who need them. Dr Nighat is a hugely respected clinician, a popular medical communicator and a trusted voice across platforms, cultures and communities. Her debut, The Knowledge, will become an essential purchase and a tool for life."

The author commented: “With this illustrated, inclusive book, women will feel seen and heard. I find in my clinics if I share medical information women never keep the advice to themselves. They go home and share it. The Knowledge therefore isn’t mine – it’s my gift to you. Take the knowledge within, and share it like confetti with others you come across.”