Looking for something to read this summer?

If you’re looking for books about important topics related to woman’s midlife health and wellbeing to read this summer keep on reading.

I love reading and am always getting ideas (too many) for books from friends, articles, my book club, podcasts, and others.

Recently I received an email from a subscriber with a link to an article in The Guardian, a British daily newspaper – All the rage: the rise of the menopause novel.

 

I went down a “book hole” and researched some of the novels in the article and a few sound good, and interesting. I haven’t read any of them but I put a few on hold at the Toronto Public Library where I get (FOR FREE!!!) the majority of the books I read and listen to (on Libby App).

 

The authors are women, British and Irish, who wrote “novels to take on the menopause” because of their own journey through the hormonal changes of midlife.

 

Joanne Harris, the author of Chocolate (remember the book or the movie starring Juliette Binoche, circa 2000?) says “Why do we always have to hear about the princesses? Why do we not get to hear more about the wicked witches and the stepmothers because that’s what the princesses will grow into eventually?”  AHAHAHAHAHA!

 

“These new novels dare to imagine the lives of women at the point where they have crossed into the abyss of middle age. When, as Victoria Smith puts it in her blistering polemic Hags, also published this year, they are dealing with “the loss of the Fs that matter most to the patriarchy: fertility, femininity, fuckability”.

 

And I have my personal favourites list for non-fiction literature about health and wellness for women in midlife that elaborates on my P.L.E.A.S.E. Yourself! Six Tips For An Easier Menopause Transition (Positivity, Less stress (or better, stress management), Eating healthy foods, Awareness of what your body is going through, Sleep, Exercise).

 

If you haven’t yet, please grab this quick guide and learn techniques to minimize menopause symptoms here (scroll down a few times to get to the right page).

 

 Here’s my book list. Happy reading:

 

Menopause – The Change For The Better by Deborah Garlick

Managing Hot Flushes & Night Sweats. A Cognitive Behavioural Self-Help Guide To The Menopause by Prof. Myra Hunter and psychologist Melanie Smith

The XX Brain by Dr. Lisa Mosconi

A Woman’s Guide to Healthy Aging: 7 Proven Ways to Keep You Vibrant, Happy & Strong, by Vivien Brown, MD

Moody Bitches: The Truth About The Drugs You’re Taking, The Sleep You’re Missing, The Sex You’re Not Having, And What’s Really Making You Crazy by Dr Julie Holland (for all women still ovulating/menstruating!)

Sleep After Menopause by Maria J. Sunseri, MD

The Joy of Movement – How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection, and Courage by psychologist Kelly McGonigal

Better Sex Through Mindfulness – How Women Can Cultivate Desire by Lori A. Brotto, PhD

The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health With Facts And Feminism by Dr. Jen Gunter

 

I confess that I usually listen to audiobooks because it takes me months to finish reading a book due to lack of time. Or rather, lack of making time for reading a book (“me time”) which I’m always preaching that you (and my clients) should do…but this is a theme for another blog…

 

Feel free to share this blog and/or the link to P.L.E.A.S.E. Yourself! Six Tips For An Easier Menopause Transition with friends

 

The more women know about menopause the fewer will suffer through it and the better our society will be. And if it starts by reading a book all the better…

 

As always, if you need help nevigating your menopause transition let’s talk. Connect with me here