Age Like a Girl: How Menopause Rewires Your Brain for Mental Clarity, Increased Confidence, and Renewed Energy

by Mindy Pelz

Dr. Mindy Pelz, noted women's health advocate and the bestselling author of Fast Like a Girl and Eat Like a Girl , redefines menopause as a powerful biological upgrade—offering science-backed strategies to help women thrive, reclaim their health, and step into their most vibrant, authentic selves.

Age Like a Girl challenges the outdated narrative of menopause and redefines it as a time of transformation, power, and renewal. Dr. Mindy Pelz explores the biological purpose of menopause, revealing how shifting hormones can unlock newfound wisdom, strength, and clarity. Through the lens of the Grandmother Hypothesis, she connects neuroscience, nutrition, fasting, exercise, and emotional well-being to help women optimize their health and embrace this stage of life.

Part The Purpose of Menopause

Explores why menopause exists, drawing from evolutionary science, neuroscience, and the Grandmother Hypothesis. Reveals how brain and hormonal shifts during menopause can be an advantage—enhancing wisdom, intuition, and resilience. Highlights lessons from traditional cultures, such as the Okinawan and hunter-gatherer societies, that have embraced menopause as a time of strength and leadership. Part The Age Like a Girl Toolbox

Provides science-backed health strategies to optimize energy, metabolism, and mental clarity during menopause. Covers key topics

Why postmenopausal women thrive on ketones over glucose and how fasting can be a powerful tool. The best nutrients to support hormonal balance and how to incorporate them into daily life. How exercise should evolve to align with changing hormones. The importance of connection, mood, and memory, including strategies to support mental well-being. Explains how shifts in estrogen and neurochemicals impact the body—and how to work with these changes, rather than against them. Part Returning Home to Yourself

A personal and transformative section where Dr. Mindy shares her own experiences, offering insights into self-discovery and personal growth post-menopause. How menopause frees women from cultural conditioning and encourages them to stop people-pleasing. A powerful call for women to embrace transformation, akin to emerging from a chrysalis into their next phase of life. Encouragement for women to embrace this stage of life as a time to come home to themselves.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Personal Growth, Audiobook, Self Help

336 pages, Hardcover

Published December 16, 2025

Reviews

[Annetteaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

MUST READ! This book was the best resource I have encountered to understand menopause and how this sometimes rocky transition actually helps women ascend into their most powerful and beautiful selves. Excuse me while I do that 🦋

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated her mostly positive tone and a lot of her lifestyle advice. It wasn’t a very comprehensive book, and at times a little dismissive of medical interventions. This would be a great read for someone who almost exclusively follows naturopathy, or for someone who has already read a few other books on menopause. I’m glad I read “The New Menopause” and “Unbreakable: A Women’s Guide to Aging with Power” first.

[Janel Kullman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended!

[Christine Tutunjian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not in perimenopause yet but am trying to understand this next phase of life. Having gone through matrescence after each of my kids, that process was alarming and unexpected. I learned about it after going through it rather than before and I wish I understood where I was heading. And that’s what this book seems to be, but for menopause.

For physical symptoms, her “Menopause Reset” book feels like a better fit as this one focuses primarily of that ‘midlife crisis’ mind change that accompanies menopause. It does touch on physical symptoms and does a brief recap of elements from her other books as they are intertwined. I like how it has an appendix chapter summary for men and also for employers.

Does this book actually help assist a woman in perimenopause/menopause? Time will tell.

P.s. It has a long list of medical studies to back up her points but she also gets into alternative and likely controversial methods (🍄). With her background of “just being a chiropractor” I can imagine these alternative concepts will further push certain audiences to discredit her. But considering she’s lived the experience, and specialized her focus of research so that her experience and understanding can help others when family doctors have dropped the ball with so many women, it’s worth taking the time to read. The studies and medical journals aren’t hers, she’s simply compiling information and breaking it down in really easy to understand terms.

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's inspirational enough. I probably should have read the physical or e-book so that the associated charts and graphs could be viewed simultaneously. It's hard to help all women who are in the peri-menopausal/menopausal stage because everyone experiences a wide range of symptoms and to varying degrees. I wish the attention that menopause has received recently had come sooner!

[Kristine Knorr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative book, easy to read. Wish I had it to read back when I was in perimenopause but I still found it helpful. I would recommend this to women of all ages and I plan to pass it on to my 23 year old daughter. It’s never too early for young women to learn about the changes her body will go through.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libby audio. I feel validated for my desire to be alone, increased anxiety, and a some other perimenopause signs I’m experiencing. I think she did a good job of explaining why. She had some not unique principles to aging: fasting, SIT, LHS, similar to other menopause books I’ve read. It’s cute that you think men will read this book to support their partners or that male bosses would give AF.

[Julie S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very helpful book. The explanation of how estrogen and progesterone affect dopamine, serotonin, GABA, etc makes a lot of sense. I really like her suggestions of how to adapt lifestyle to boost these as the hormones drop. It’s a positive and practical guide.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an uplifting and positive take on Menopause! I really recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about what's happening to their body and brain during this change. A brilliant appendix to share with the men in your life too.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has some good info. Some parts I would and some parts I would not participate in. Overall, I have repeated things I learned in this book, so I say it’s worth the read especially if you want a better understanding of what is really going on.

[Steph Ebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and informative. Highly recommend for all going through perimenopause and/ot menopause.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful. I have already made some changes. I hope it goes well :)

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for any woman.

[Natasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for every perimenopausal or menopausal woman!