I was given What Fresh Hell Is This: Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You by Heather Corinna by my kids. It was a highly appropriate gift from several perspectives. Captain Obvious here: I’m somewhere in the menopause process (hard to tell exactly where, since I had my uterus removed a few years back, but my ovaries are still in there doing things or maybe not). But also, my dear daughter in law Sam is a social worker with Scarleteen, which Corinna founded and runs.
I have been making a point of talking about menopause things out loud often because I felt like I came into this process totally unprepared. I mean, I’d heard about hot flashes, but cold flashes? Who knew? Not me. I think it’s time for whatever cultural reticence or taboo (or, you know, men thinking women’s processes are icky) to get out of the way so we can know what the heck is going on.
This book is extremely helpful. It’s full of useful information presented in plain and inclusive language. Ageism, sexism, racism, and ableism are called out repeatedly. Those who are uncomfortable with swear words, LGBTQ+ issues, varieties of sexual practice, and less conventional relationship choices will have some adjusting to do and/or might prefer a different messenger for this particular message, but again, the data is sound and the aim is uplifting, encouraging, and hopeful without being bright-siding (in other words, when stuff sucks, Corinna says it sucks).
I highly recommend it for people in the process, or who are with people in the process, or for people who will sooner or later be in the process.
No comments:
Post a Comment