Menopause can often be a challenging phase of life for women. But what can you really expect and how do you navigate it? In her latest book Don’t Sweat it, health writer Nicky Pellegrino shares her own menopause story and interviews credible experts about the latest research.
Nicky has done the work for you and has the lowdown on how menopause can affect your weight, memory, sleep, anxiety and libido! She discusses the latest research on everything from hormone replacement therapy to hot flushes. This is a refreshingly frank, honest and empowering guide to perimenopause and menopause.
“I worked in female-dominated offices for years. My colleagues talked about their pregnancies, their PMS and even their period pains… but never did I ever hear anybody mention that they were menopausal,” she says.
“I wasn’t prepared for menopause - didn’t know anything and tried not to think about it. As a younger woman, if I did think at all then it was in terms of losing my fertility and perhaps getting the odd flush.”
However, menopause is about far more than hot flushes and your treatment plan needs to be personalised. Like most things in life, if you prepare for it, you’ll have a better experience.
Despite being a health journalist for years, she was shocked at how many fake facts she found and the lack of agency women are being given over their bodies.
The menopause revolution is about removing taboos, encouraging discussion and empowering women to make their own choices, says Nicky. Depending on a woman’s symptoms (there are 32!), there is a range of options available to help them manage ‘the change’ she says.
Nicky’s accessible, candid, funny writing left me feeling hopeful for the years ahead. She takes an upbeat approach to managing menopause and gave me a better understanding of this stage of life.
Nicky Pellegrino is an experienced health writer and a successful novelist. She has previously edited the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly. Follow her online.
Reviewer: Andrea Molloy
Allen & Unwin, RRP $36.99