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 Little or nothing was written in that book about menopause, however; even if it had been, I knew it'd be long out of date!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.
