Musings on Perimenopause and Menopause

Heather Dillaway is a professor of sociology, interim chair of public health, and associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Her research focuses on women's perimenopause and menopause experiences, and is published in a range of feminist journals including Gender & Society; Sex Roles; Journal of Women & Aging; Healthcare for Women International; Women and Health; Women’s Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal; and Feminist Formations. Dillaway’s work on this reproductive transition, as well as her research into the reproductive health experiences of women with physical disabilities, seeks to highlight women’s everyday voices and lived experiences.Laura Wershler discovered a love for editing the words of other while earning a certificate in journalism (2011) from Mount Royal University. She brings to her editing and writing decades of experience as a sexual and reproductive health advocate, commentator, and educator. Her work has appeared in various newspapers, journals, online media, and the anthology Without Apology: Writings on Abortion in Canada (2016). Two personal essays about women’s aging will appear in other anthologies published in 2021. One is from her memoir-in-progress about her role as advocate and companion to her mother in deep old age.

This interdisciplinary and multi-genre collection about women’s menopausal transitions is necessary and welcome. The contributors’ collective honesty, curiosity, and conclusions about women’s transitions to the next stages of their lives—whether through poetry, visual art, literature, or their own lived experience—will be valuable for any reader wanting to know more about this topic. I recommend it certainly for people of any age who will or have gone through these transitions, but also for medical personnel and others who should seek more understanding about women’s lives. -Nicole L Willey, Professor of English, Kent State University and editor of Feminist Fathering; Fathering Feminists // With contributions from artists, academics, and actual people; this collection of musings on menopause is like attending a multidisciplinary conference without having to leave your armchair. - Lisa Leger, Justisse fertility educator

• Table of ContentsIntroductionLaura Wershler and Heather Dillaway1. MENO-TYPICALThe Anatomy of a Hot FlashBeth Osnes“Gone Girl:” The Menopause in Popular CultureMary Jane LuptonMyths and Misconceptions: Migrant and Refugee Women’s Constructions and Experiences of MenopauseJane Ussher, Alexandra Hawkey, and Janette PerzThe SWAN Study: Race, Gender, Identity, and MenopauseMindy FriedSlouching Toward MenopauseJoanne Gilbert2. OUT OF STEPBefore Your Time: When Menopause Comes Too SoonEvelina W. Sterling, Christine Eads, Starr Vuchetich, and Catherine M. GordonShadow StoryYolanda KauffmanJust Before MenopauseDonna J. Gelagotis LeePatches Not Pads: An Intersex Experience with Post-Surgical (Pseudo) MenopauseGeorgiann Davis and Koyel Khan3. BLOOD RELATIONSWaiting for Seventeen DaysHeather Dillaway“Dear Magnolia…..Nobody Really Understands….What Can I Do?”: Reflections on a Perimenopausal Blog as Social SupportGillian AndersonFinding BedrockMarie MaccagnoMenopause ClaimedLaura Wershler4. UNLEASHEDHarsh Blessings: On Finding Poetry at FiftyMagali Roy-FéquièreUninhabitable Lives: Narrative Strategies of Menopause Experience in Notes on a Scandal and CarolSylvie Teillay-GambaudoPerimenopause: The Body, Mind, and Spirit in TransitionVictoria TeamFrom the Crowning to the Crone: Extrapolating Judy Chicago’s Birth Project to Older Women Anne BarrettAll New PantiesCayo GamberContributor Notes