Our Bodies, Ourselves: Menopause (Paperback)

~ Boston Women's Health Book Collective (Author), Judy Norsigian (Author), Vivian Pinn (Preface)
Key Phrases: bone health, other health concerns, vulvovaginal changes, United States, New York, Postmenopausal Women (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers familiar with Our Bodies, Ourselves, first published in 1970, will find the same comprehensive, balanced and empowering approach in this volume. The authors consider menopause within the totality of women's health and as a natural process, not a medical problem. They detail typical menopausal symptoms, mainstream and alternative treatments, and risk factors for such conditions as osteoporosis, heart disease, cancer and diabetes as women age. They explain the biology of menopause; provide up-to-date perspectives on hormone replacement therapy (HRT); discuss sudden and early menopause due to surgery, medical treatments or genetic risk factors; and offer personal reflections by individual women. The sections on how to evaluate research findings; make wise health-care decisions; understand the social, cultural, economic and political frameworks in which women's health care is viewed and formulated; and nurture the self—mind, body and spirit—during years of change on all levels will prove most useful. As a general reference on menopause, this volume will be embraced by a wide female audience. (Oct.)
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Review

"So much has been learned about menopause in the last twenty-five years -- what a challenge it had to be to treat the subject in a comprehensive, comprehensible manner, which this book admirably does....A worthy companion to the classic pathfinder book by the same organization."

-- Isaac Schiff, M. D., chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology Service at Massachusetts General Hospital

"Who's afraid of menopause? Not the authors of this book, who offer practical health information and the wisdom of experience to help other women through this life transition."

-- Kathleen Turner, actress

"Our Bodies Ourselves has done it again!...Our beloved guides to our own bodies...lead us through menopause with this detailed, inclusive, and woman-centered book -- a must-read for every woman in her middle years."

-- Helen Zia, author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People and former executive editor of Ms. Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; 1 edition (October 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743274873
• ISBN-13: 978-0743274876
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #97,338 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relief is in sight!, November 24, 2006

By	N. Forsyth (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There's nothing like hot flashes and night sweats to send you in search of a resource to provide answers and empathy -- not necessarily in that order. Our Bodies Ourselves: Menopause serves up both in equal parts. Well-researched facts combined with personal anecdotes make this a marvelous book for anyone approaching, in or even contemplating menopause. It may not have eliminated my "symptoms," but it certainly eliminated my misconceptions! Having looked at pretty much all of the books available, I can confidently say that this is definitely the best of them.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Depth, Breadth and Easy to Use, October 16, 2006

By	Louise A. Venden "Older and Wiser" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I sought out and read many books on menopause over the past five years, but none have been as readable, complete, and respectful to readers. The compelling personal stories resonate and create trust in the book's authoritative medical and non medical advice. Concise descriptions of even rare conditions depict the care that must have been taken to write this book. Unlike many menopause tomes, it does not talk down, preach, or prostelitize. This books offers alternative opinions on aspects of this important transition and gives women confidence to chart their own course.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The other end of the birds-and-the-bees story, February 11, 2007

By	Esther Schindler (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When we are teenagers and pre-teen girls, everybody's attention is on explaining what to expect at our first menstrual period. Whether the information is accurate or not, whether it comes from a girlfriend or a parent or a Sex Ed class, we're given a lot of data: this is how pregnancy happens, here's the basics on tampon usage, and so on. And girls talk amongst themselves about the subject, announcing (with some odd sort of pride) that they have their period, and what cramps feel like, etc.

But at the other end of the fertility cycle, the situation is much different. I didn't even know when my sisters had their "change of life;" it isn't the sort of thing we discuss. I realized recently just how little I knew about menopause, and what to expect, either as a normal part of the process or something that ought to send me scurrying to the doctor. It was time, I decided, to do some research.

Back in the 70s, I bought the original Our Bodies Ourselves; in fact, I still own the same copy. I learned to trust that book for health explanations that were also balanced, such as explaining the advantages and disadvantages of each method of birth control. And the authors made the topic interesting, compassionate, and relevant, which was saying something. Little or nothing was written in that book about menopause, however; even if it had been, I knew it'd be long out of date!

I'm pleased with this book, for the same reasons that I loved the first Our Bodies Ourselves. It's written conversationally, not like a medical text that makes me worry if this material will be on the final exam. It's very reassuring about the normalcy of the process, and (like the first book, which emphasized that pregnancy is not a "disease" even if doctors sometimes treat it that way), stresses the importance of making your own choices. Most importantly, it tells me what to expect. And darnit, it's interesting; I haven't finished the book yet, but I'm reading it with the dedicated attention of a whodunnit where I haven't yet figured out who the murderer is.

One thing I appreciate -- which will also demonstrate that I'm still a crunchy granola hippie -- is that OBO:Menopause practically underlines the medical research that's been done, and the factors that can sometimes make that research unreliable. (For instance, they point out, drug companies underwrite a lot of research, choose which data to use, and miraculously come out with results that support their use of, say, a certain hormone.) But as with the earlier book, the data is all laid out in a way that lets YOU make the decisions; nobody tells you what conclusions to draw. I love that.

I haven't read widely on this subject, so I can't tell you if it's the best book about menopause. But I'm quite impressed with the information provided and with its accessibility. I think you will be, too.