What Fresh Hell Is This? by Heather Corinna

In October, we read Liz's pick What Fresh Hell Is This? Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You by Heather Corinna. This nonfiction book shamelessly discusses all aspects of menopause from the perspective of a sex educator who has researched it and lived it. The book choice was welcomed by many. It gave us an opportunity to share and talk about an important phase of our lives that is still treated as a taboo topic by society. We were able to compare symptoms and discuss where we are in our journeys (and even sharing some period-tracking graphs). 

Most viewed the book as a solid reference, although some enjoyed the style of writing more than others.  Corinna has been described as many things, but reserved is probably not one of them. We appreciated that the book was thorough, addressed the topic from many different angles, and emphasized that there was no one right way to do menopause.

We discussed how menopause has been treated historically including delving into our own family histories with what our mothers and other family members talked about with us and importantly what they didn't talk about.

Beyond the book, I think we all appreciate the close connection we have with one another, which allows us to openly talk about these issues and never feel alone.