Review - Perimenopause: Have It, Live It, Love It

Nothing kills terror more than idle (but practical) chatter. Imagine going into a haunted house (real or not) with a chattering companion. Listen to her voice as she rattles on about the creepy décor (I believe it's French Art Nouveau, not really Gothic per se), the furniture (What a fine Queen Anne, it only needs a slight repair), the silverware (Whoever treats silverware like this should be ashamed of themselves), etc. You can feel your terror ebbing away in such a situation. It could be because the human voice is very comforting (or very annoying to others who find that while terror may have gone, it left annoyance behind). Or it could be because the ghosts couldn't put a word in. Whatever the case may be, it works.

Now replace the house with perimenopause and the idle (but practical) chatter with Pam Andrews Perimenopause: Have It, Live It, Love It and you'll find out why I love that book.

Perimenopause is really scary for a woman. It heralds the coming of menopause. Your body and your mind becomes alien. You'll do things you wouldn't normally do or stuff happens that never happened before. And all this will occur, while in a lot of pain.

In this extremely difficult and frightening stage in a woman's life, Ms Andrews writing style and knowledge is a godsend. Her writing sounds like a friendly neighbor offering her experience and her advice to the inexperienced one over a cup of coffee and cookies. It can really take the fear away. It's totally unlike talking to a doctor or scientist who tries to be exact while terrifying his patient with mumbo jumbo words.

But while the author's voice is warm, levelheaded and friendly, there's a lot of meat in what she says. Her breadth of knowledge matches that found in the doctor or scientist I mentioned before. Maybe she has even more knowledge than that scientist (unless the scientist was also female). This intimate knowledge comes from painstaking research after the onset of early perimenopause happened to her.

The book offers a lot of information and advice on perimenopause. Like other good books, it patiently explains all the materials in the subject. It explains what is perimenopause, what causes it, what are its signs and symptoms and a lot more. It's informative and comprehensive while preserving that writing tone that I love so well.

In the book are many examples of women trying to survive through perimenopause. It's a nice touch that emphasizes that women are not alone in facing perimenopause. Generations of women have lived through it. Some lived through it happily while others were miserable. The author encourages women to reach for happiness while in pain and gives advice on how to relieve the pain so the smiles won't only be for show.

For me, one of the best pain relievers is simply reading the book and letting the authors chattering style distract me from the pain. When that happens, I find that I'm not alone. There are others who support me. Then I can smile again.