In 2000, Sr Ephigenia W. Gachiri IBVM published Female Circumcision: With Reference to the Agikuyu of Kenya. The book was an important contribution to the delicate debate on what some call Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Female Genital Cut (FGC). in the 2000 work, the author did a case study among the Gikuyu people in the context of national, regional and global milieu of cultures that practise female circumcision. 

In her present book, she advocates the integration of male circumcision for communities that practise it as a rite of passage with the Christian sacraments, and especially that of Communion.

Sr Gachiri's new book is admirable for several reasons. First: Since some people are advocating the cessation of both male and female physical operations, emotions can be very raw. Her present work will enhance the quality of debate on a subject in which people hold to their positions tenaciously. Second: Her manual is an effort to fill a major void in the upbringing of many young people. A rite of passage should not be merely a physical event. It ought to touch the entire person in their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual constitution. Third: A rite of passage needs to be meaningful to and for its participants. Humans are not only recipients but also makers of meaning. Through this manual, young people will be both seekers and providers of meaning. (From the Preface by Fr Dr Lawrence Njoroge)