Note I have added links to where I found these books as many are now out of print…there are many secondhand bookshops on line and on the high streets, or you may prefer to buy a new version. I have no affiliation with any of the shops that are linked!
The Wisdom of Menopause by Christiane Northrup…..
includes mainstream info and alternatives, covers every aspect of peri menopause and menopause
“Dr. Christiane Northrup’s #1 New York Times bestseller The Wisdom of Menopause has inspired more than a million women with a dramatically new vision of midlife–and will continue to do so for generations to come. As Dr. Northrup has championed, the “change” is not simply a collection of physical symptoms to be “fixed,” but a mind-body revolution that brings the greatest opportunity for growth since adolescence. The choices a woman makes now–from the quality of her relationships to the quality of her diet–have the power to secure vibrant health and well-being for the rest of her life. Now completely revised, this groundbreaking classic draws on the current research and medical advances in women’s health, and includes – a new section on sex after 50–and how, if need be, you can rejuvenate your sex life
– updated mammogram guidelines–and how thermography improves breast health
– the latest on the glycemic index, optimal blood sugar levels, and ways to prevent diabetes
– dietary guidelines revealing that hidden sugar–not dietary fat–is the main culprit in heart disease, cancer, and obesity
– all you need to know about perimenopause and why it’s critical to your well-being
– a vital program for ensuring pelvic health during and after menopause
– strategies to combat osteoporosis and strengthen bones for life With this trusted resource, Dr. Christiane Northrup shows that women can make menopause a time of personal empowerment–emerging wiser, healthier, and stronger in both mind and body than ever before.”
New Menopausal Years : The Wise Woman Way by Susun Weed
I just love how Susun speaks as a wise grandmother, her herbal advice is second to none!
“The best book on menopause is now better. Herbal solutions for osteoporosis, hot flashes, mood swings, fatigue, flooding, fibroids, low libido, incontinence, anxiety, depression.
Completely revised with 100 new pages. All the remedies women know and trust plus hundreds of new ones. New sections on thyroid health, fibromyalgia, hairy problems, male menopause, and herbs for women taking hormones.
Recommended by Susan Love MD and Christiane Northrup MD.
One of the world’s best selling books on menopause still comes on strong. Called “indispensable,” “incredible,” and a “treasure trove of information,” Menopausal Years is the “bible” for the 87% of American women over the age of fifty who want nothing to do with hormones.
Includes information and remedies for problems with premenopause — flooding, erratic periods, fibroids, spotting, water retention, muscle soreness — as well as menopause — hot flashes, sleeplessness, mood swings, headaches, palpitations, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and much more. Final chapters speak to post-menopausal women’s concerns: including ways to maintain heart health, prevent and reverse osteoporosis, deal with dry vaginal tissues and incontinence, ease aching joints, and maintain healthy libido.
The soothing, wise voice of Grandmother Growth guides each woman through the book and through her own menopause metamorphosis. Ritual interludes interweaves a spiritual dimension often lacking in other works.
Includes superb resource lists for menopause information, index, glossary, directions for using (and preparing) herbal medicines, complete descriptions of the most-used menopausal herbs (including nettles, ginseng, dong quai, red clover, oatstraw, and motherwort), recipes for heart- and bone-healthy dishes, and lots of illustrations.”
Red Moon Passage : The Power and Wisdom of Menopause Bonnie J. Horrigan
I love how Bonnie has woven stories of amazing women around the theme of menopause . (out of print but can be found on Amazon Marketplace and Abe Books)
“In the spirit of The Feminine Face of God, Coming into Our Fullness, and the million-copy best-seller when I Am Old I Shall Wear Purple, Red Moon Passage celebrates menopause as a spiritual journey of transformation. Through the words of a culturally diverse group of some of the wisest and most visionary women of our time, this book conveys the idea that menopause, when approached correctly, can usher in a dynamic new way of being, filled with increased creative and intuitive abilities.Written with notable grace, Red Moon Passage contains a personal story of sorrow and triumph as well as enlightening conversations with eight extraordinary women for a number of spiritual traditions: Jeanne Achterberg, Paula Gunn Allen, Angeles Arrien, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Kachinas Kutenai, Carol S. Pearson, Jamie Sams, and Barbara G. Walker.”
Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life : Achieving Optimal Health and Wellness through Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, and Western Science by Claudia Welch
I’ve found this book to be such a help in understanding the yin and yang of our hormones and particularly love her techniques to help with insomnia.
“Tired? Overworked? Stressed? Out of balance? Welcome to the twenty-first century, where women’s stress levels have reached unprecedented heights. Between myriad responsibilities, women burn through even the energy gained from sufficient sleep and a healthy diet. The result? Hormonal havoc. In clear, accessible language, internationally renowned doctor Claudia Welch explains hormones from A to Z, specifically how they relate to each other, how and why they become imbalanced, and how women can restore that balance. Welch includes simple diet tips, stress-management techniques, and natural sleep secrets. Using the principles of Ayurveda (popularized in the West by Deepak Chopra) and the holistic sensibility of Dr. Christiane Northrup, Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life gives women the essential tools to achieve the perfect balance between their yin (sex hormones) and yang (stress hormones), and between the body and the mind.”
The Seven sacred Rites of Menopause by Kristi Meisenbach Boylan
Now THIS I loved! Her analogy of the peri menopausal women stepping on to the boat to Avalon really resonated with me…although I just admit she lost me towards the end when she brought in HRT, but the most of it is beautiful.
“Menopause is much more than just a list of physical ailments, menopause is a spiritual journey. Kristi Meisenbach Boylan outlines the seven rituals that menopausal women move through on their voyage to the wise-woman years. Learn why these seven ceremonial milestones should be viewed as celebrations, not as symptoms of illness or disease.”
Passage to Power – the natural menopause revolution by Leslie Kenton
I was heartened to read Leslie wrote this while living in Pembrokeshire, Wales (very near where I have landed!). There is a LOT of info about hormones which could be out dated (this was written in 1994) Leslie was obviously ahead of her time when she wrote this. She pushes the progesterone cream as an alternative to HRT but after reading the Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life, the bio-identical hormone route is not for me. However I have introduced Yam powder/flour to my smoothies as a natural progesterone. I love her wisdom on the spiritual side of menopause and that we are in fact stepping into our POWER at this time in our lives!
“PASSAGE TO POWER continues to help thousands of women who fear the menopause or who are suffering from menopausal troubles. A veritable bible, it tackles the science of menopause and scrutinses the practices commonly associated with it. Leslie Kenton questions the benefits of HRT, examines the politics behind such treatment and sets out the principles of natural HRT. The book describes the extraordinary healing powers of natural progesterone and reveals the devastating effects of xenoestrogens -environmental chemicals to which western women (and men) are increasingly exposed. Finally, she shows women how to reconnect with their deepest levels of intuition and instinct on their journey towards individual freedom. Taken as a whole, PASSAGE TO POWER enables all women to face the menopause in possession of all the knowledge they need to live their lives to the full.”
The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd
Not strictly a menopause book but this speaks to me of a women at that time of her life having an awakening to the life she’s living and things needing to change!!
“I was amazed to find that I had no idea how to unfold my spiritual life in a feminine way. I was surprised, and, in fact, a little terrified, when I found myself in the middle of a feminist spiritual reawakening.” Sue Monk Kidd
For years, Sue Monk Kidd was a conventionally religious woman. Then, in the late 1980s, she experienced an unexpected awakening, and began a journey toward a feminine spirituality. With the exceptional storytelling skills that have helped make her name, Kidd tells her very personal story of the fear, anger, healing, and freedom she experienced on the path toward the wholeness that many women have lost in the church.
From a jarring encounter with sexism in a suburban drugstore, to monastery retreats and to rituals in the caves of Crete, she reveals a new level of feminine spiritual consciousness for all women one that retains a meaningful connection with the “deep song of Christianity,” embraces the sacredness of ordinary women s experience, and has the power to transform in the most positive ways every fundamental relationship in a woman’s life her marriage, her career, and her religion.”
Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Anne Kidd Taylor
The follow on from the Dance of the Dissident Daughter Sue describes the next stage of her life, questioning and and traveling with her daughter who is also questioning where she is going with her life after finishing studying. (also recommend Sue Monk Kidds fiction for strong women stories!)
“Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter Ann chronicle their travels together at a time when each had reached an important turning point in her life. What emerged was a quest for Ann and Sue to redefine themselves and also rediscover one other. Against the backdrop of the sacred sites of Greece, Turkey and France, Sue grapples with the problem of how to expand her vision of swarming bees into the novel that she feels compelled to write, whilst newly raduated Ann ponders the classic question of what to do with her life.”
Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment by Katrina Kenison
This beautifully written book had me sighing (and weeping!) with relief to read about another woman going though a similar journey- whilst our stories are very different there are many places to identify with Katrina as she finds her way though the void space of peri menopause.
“The arc of MAGICAL JOURNEY will span a year in which, like thousands of other women her age, Katrina will confront the reality of a new life without children at home, and begin to shape the second half of her own adulthood. It will chronicle twelve months of both great transformation and subtle shifts. More an account of a spiritual journey than a physical one, this transformation begins and ends in one place–a home, a life, a marriage–but that is, in its own way, as demanding as any trek or pilgrimage to distant lands. And it is inspired by the belief that even as old identities are outgrown, new ones begin to beckon, if we can only summon courage to heed the call.”
The Gift of the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
This tiny book is such a treasure! A friend loaned me her copy that she admitted she hadn’t yet read a few years back. I devoured it in a day or so! Whilst being written by a ’50s housewife the sentiment is very relevant today- we need to simplify our lives! Often this comes stronger and stronger at the passage of menopause….
“‘Women need solitude in order to find again the true essence of themselves.’
First published in 1955 and an instant bestseller, Gift from the Sea is a classic, wise book for women about how to flourish in life, how to balance life, work, motherhood; about finding space to think and breathe.
Holidaying by the sea, and taking inspiration from the shells she finds on the seashore, Anne Morrow Lindbergh meditates on youth and age, love and marriage, peace, solitude and contentment. Her insights – into aspects of the modern world that threaten to overwhelm us, the complications of technology, the ever multiplying commitments that take us from our families – are as relevant today as they ever were, perhaps even more so.
By recording her thoughts during a brief escape from everyday demands, Anne Morrow Lindbergh helps readers find a space for contemplation and creativity within their own lives.”
Read my other Blog posts on peri menopause
To work deeper with me, see my online trainings, and workshops
Rachael Crow 2018