Kate Haas, the author of Miranda zine and I were bemoaning via letters and email that there don't seem to be classic novels about menopause, the way there are about menarche. Where's the middle aged lady's Are You There God, It's Me Margaret?, we wondered, and so decided to attempt to find out.
We're reading books with an eye toward a few criteria:
- Does it describe the symptoms of perimenopause, e.g., hot flashes?
- Can we relate to the characters? (In the first book we read, three of the four characters were filthy rich. It's not impossible to relate to people with no financial concerns, but the writing would have to do a whole lot more than it did to make the case.)
- If there is sex depicted, does it seem realistic?
- Do the characters explore aging in a meaningful way, whether they come to terms with it or not?
Following is our reading list in anti-chronological order. Suggestions welcome, encouraged, begged for!
- Loop Dee Doo by Cyndi Perkins
- Off the Rag: Lesbians Writing on Menopause edited by Lee Lynch and Akia Woods
- Blue Duets by Kathleen Wall
- Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray
- The Hot Flash Club by Nancy Thayer
Menopause books resources