The Menopause Book

(Workman Publishing, 2009)

As life stages go, midlife is definitely an unsung hero. Our youth-centric culture favors young adulthood, burgeoning careers, pregnancy and emerging family life. Midlife is dismissed as a time for “crises,” and for women that other “M” word menopause. Veteran health and wellness journalists, Pat Wingert and Barbara Kantrowitz are out to change this, however, framing menopause not as the end of a woman’s prime, but rather as the beginning of a new phase in a woman’s life. At five-hundred pages, their tome is an empathetic, well-researched, encouraging and an overwhelmingly positive resource for women of all ages, but is particularly pertinent for those on the cusp of 40.

Organized into three sections that parallel the before, during and after phases of “the change,” The Menopause Book thoroughly covers the basics what to expect, when to expect it and when to call your doctor. It provides detailed pros and cons of various treatment options including pharmaceuticals, hormone replacement therapy and herbal medicine. But it also goes beyond the basics with a question and answer format that more specifically pinpoints individual concerns – like the connection between menopause and depression, when to see a sex therapist, how to handle hot flashes, and what qualifies as abnormal bleeding during peri-menopause.

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of the book, however, is all the information on staying healthy not only before and during menopause, but “forever.” With chapters on bones, eyes and ears, heart, cancer, diet and exercise, and looking good, the authors have addressed the major health and wellness concerns of modern women in a readable, accessible, user-friendly format. This is a book that will be read not once, but referenced again and again throughout a woman’s life. And that is no small feat.

-Tanya Triber