The Female Brain

By: Louann Brizendine MD

Narrated by: Louann Brizendine MD

Since Dr. Brizendine wrote The Female Brain ten years ago, the response has been overwhelming. This New York Times bestseller has been translated into more than thirty languages, has sold nearly a million copies between editions, and has most recently inspired a romantic comedy starring Whitney Cummings and Sofia Vergara. And its profound scientific understanding of the nature and experience of the female brain continues to guide women as they pass through life stages, to help men better understand the girls and women in their lives, and to illuminate the delicate emotional machinery of a love relationship.



Every brain begins as a female brain. It only becomes male eight weeks after conception, when excess testosterone shrinks the communications center, reduces the hearing cortex, and makes the part of the brain that processes sex twice as large.

Louann Brizendine, M.D. is a pioneering neuropsychiatrist who brings together the latest findings to show how the unique structure of the female brain determines how women think, what they value, how they communicate, and whom they’ll love. Brizendine reveals the neurological explanations behind why

• A woman remembers fights that a man insists never happened

• A teen girl is so obsessed with her looks and talking on the phone

• Thoughts about sex enter a woman’s brain once every couple of days but enter a man’s brain about once every minute

• A woman knows what people are feeling, while a man can’t spot an emotion unless somebody cries or threatens bodily harm

• A woman over 50 is more likely to initiate divorce than a man

Women will come away from this book knowing that they have a lean, mean communicating machine. Men will develop a serious case of brain envy.©2006 Louann Brizendine, M.D.; (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Finally, a satisfying answer to Freud’s question, ‘What does a woman want?’ Louann Brizendine has done a great favor for every man who wants to understand the puzzling women in his life. A breezy and enlightening guide to women—and a must-read for men.”
—Daniel Goleman, author of Social Intelligence

“The Female Brain is sassy, witty, reassuring, and great fun. All women—and the men who love them—should read this book.”
—Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of The Wisdom of Menopause

“Louann Brizendine has been a pioneer in using medical science to empower her women patients. Now she seeks to share her hard-won knowledge with a wider audience. The result is a timely, insightful, readable, and altogether magnificent book.”
—Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, author of Mother Nature

“An eye-opening account of the biological foundations of human behavior. Destined to become a classic in the field of gender studies.”
—Marilyn Yalom, author of A History of the Breast

“In a breezy, playful style, Brizendine follows the development of women’s brains from birth through the teen years, to courting, pregnancy, childbirth and child-rearing, and on to menopause and beyond.”
—Deborah Tannen, Washington Post

Scientific, and not politicaly correct :)

I've always found the unisex movement in its different forms, to be quite silly and uneducated. This book cleared up some facts that I didn't know about the female brain. So I'm glad that Louann kept it scientific and didn't go the "politically correct" way.
Easy book to follow along, and some great examples from her patients and herself, so that you can understand and not get bored with fancy "clinical words" .
I probably appreciate this because English is not my first language, so my vocabulary can be improved on.
I clearly recommend this book! Give it a try :)

/Kalle W

Wonderful insights for all ages of female

Loved it! I've reached menopause and have daughter's and granddaughter's who will benefit. A must read for male and female.

Everyone shuld read it. Especially teen girls.

Great guide to female behavior understanding.
it is a must read book from women and men!

good one

loved this book, easy to listen to and digest. Found this to be a great tool as a woman.

Not politically correct, huh?

The use of factual data does not mean that you are not being politically correct. Widen the frame of reference beyond simple facts and you'll see that the underlying story you weave is all about political correctness. you present justifications for incoherent and unreasonable behavior in women and frame men and children as expendible casualties in the war to get women whatever they want whenever they want, based on their hormonal imbalances. if I were not already married I would probably run away as fast as I could from marriage after listening to this.