Books on Perimenopause and Menopause suitable for Crone Island

March 21, 2019 11:35 AM

Please help me wade through the vast thicket of books about menopause and help me find one that’s actually informative and scientific.

What I see a lot of and do not want are books that are trying to push a specific treatment (either alternative or mainstream). I’d rather have a book that’s like, here’s what to expect, here’s a diversity of things that happen to folks, here’s why it happens biologically, here’s what your options are. Bonus points if it’s not heterosexual-centric, cisgender-centric, or full of fatphobia.

posted by matildaben to Health & Fitness (4 answers total)

I just bought an OOP copy of Ourselves, Getting Older, which is from the Boston Women's Health Collective. Their books are generally not into specific treatments, and generally sound on the biology. I haven't gotten deep enough into it to know if it's heterosexist or cissexist.
posted by suelac at 11:51 AM on March 21, 2019

The Pause by Lonnie Barbach was recommended to me many years ago. (I think it was new, so, early-to-mid 90s.) I read a bit of it and it seemed good, but I was nowhere near needing it. By the time it might've been useful, I was muddling through menopause just fine and couldn't remember the name of "that book that's supposed to have lots of good info."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:24 PM on March 21, 2019

This only addresses the "here's a diversity of things that happen to folks" angle, and isn't a book. I wanted to leave the answer here in case it helps you or anyone else. I'm getting a lot of comfort from the menopause group on Reddit. I feel less alone, and have a better sense of the wide range of experiences that peri, meno, and post can bring.
posted by pomegranate at 5:54 AM on March 23, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'm replying months after you posted your question, but I'm putting this info up in case it helps you or someone else. I'm going through perimenopause at the moment, and found Dr Barbara Taylor's book "Menopause: Your Management Your Way …Now and for the Rest of Your Life" invaluable in deciding how I wanted to deal with my immediate symptoms (hot flashes, sleeplessness). She doesn't push any particular treatments but just gives you the information you need to make up your own mind about what's best for you.

The book also made me aware that these short-term symptoms are not the only things we need to think about: we need to decide how we're going to manage the increased risk of diseases such as osteoporosis, heart attack, and Alzheimer's that are associated with the loss of estrogen post-menopause. I had absolutely no idea before reading this book that I needed to be thinking about the latter.

Here's the link to her website (the book is available from the website shop): https://menopausetaylor.me/
She also has a YouTube channel with videos that cover the same material as in the book: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSJItwa6IVPGxUVfTHKbwLg
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 4:45 AM on September 2, 2019