When the world is particularly awful, I read a lot.
I've just finished Mary Ruefle's My Private Property, which is excellent in so many ways.
In the chapter "Pause" she writes:
Reading this, or any other thing ever written about menopause, will not help you in any way, for how you respond to menopause is not up to you, it is up to your body, and though you believe now that you can control your body (such is your strength after all that yoga) you cannot.
and
A kind of wild forest blood runs in your veins.... You will seek medical help because you are intelligent, and none of the help will help. You will feel as if your life is over and you will be absolutely right about that, it is over.
I have noticed that one of the hardest things about transitions like puberty, fertility/pregnancy/birth, and menopause is the lack of control we generally have. The unknowing is often worse than the physical symptoms.
It's important to remember this when you're working with people who are perimenopausal. There's so much to get to beyond the outer layer. (More in my perimenopause deep dive, in case you missed it.)
Take care,
Camille
p.s. My Private Property is not about menopause, other than this one chapter, as a head's up. It's a short compilation of essays that are sharp and thrilling and absolutely worth reading.
p.p.s. I have an incomplete/ever-evolving list of books I recommend.
