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Hot Flashes: Women Writers on the Change of Life
Hot Flashes is a collection of twenty personal essays and five poems by women writers on the experience of menopause.
With its wide spectrum of perspectives both literary and personal, Hot Flashes does not seek to answer the question, "What should I do about menopause?" but rather, "What does it mean?" Janet Burroway tells the tale of the Goblin Obgyn. S. Holly Stocking describes going through menopause just as her daughter enters adolescence. Ione finds herself seeking solitude for the first time in her life. Catherine Reid ponders the significance of menopausal eyebrows. Marilyn Krysl discovers peace and joy in the acceptance of growing old. Each writer tells an individual tale of denial, acceptance, fear, or joy, but also traces a universal passage through the change of life.
Rejecting the notion that the loss of youth and fertility means a condemnation to invisibility, the pieces here address the physical, emotional, and spiritual components of menopause in a way that only a chorus of voices can - and find new depths of wisdom and artistry in the process of change itself.
With its wide spectrum of perspectives both literary and personal, Hot Flashes does not seek to answer the question, "What should I do about menopause?" but rather, "What does it mean?" Janet Burroway tells the tale of the Goblin Obgyn. S. Holly Stocking describes going through menopause just as her daughter enters adolescence. Ione finds herself seeking solitude for the first time in her life. Catherine Reid ponders the significance of menopausal eyebrows. Marilyn Krysl discovers peace and joy in the acceptance of growing old. Each writer tells an individual tale of denial, acceptance, fear, or joy, but also traces a universal passage through the change of life.
Rejecting the notion that the loss of youth and fertility means a condemnation to invisibility, the pieces here address the physical, emotional, and spiritual components of menopause in a way that only a chorus of voices can - and find new depths of wisdom and artistry in the process of change itself.
179 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 30, 2009
I picked this book up from a neighborhood garage sale. I wish I could say I bought it from a bookseller because these women writers deserve to earn their royalties.
This is a collection of essays by female authors on their experiences with menopause. I believe it caught my eye because it's a subject on my mind lately. These ladies are frank, sometimes funny and always informative. Being a straight person, it hadn't occurred to me how a lesbian woman might view menopause differently. I am also surprised to learn about how other cultures besides mine, handle this event.
I recommend this one to women wanting to know what to expect and to the men in their lives unsure of what's going on.
This is a collection of essays by female authors on their experiences with menopause. I believe it caught my eye because it's a subject on my mind lately. These ladies are frank, sometimes funny and always informative. Being a straight person, it hadn't occurred to me how a lesbian woman might view menopause differently. I am also surprised to learn about how other cultures besides mine, handle this event.
I recommend this one to women wanting to know what to expect and to the men in their lives unsure of what's going on.
October 4, 2009
I bought it used on Amazon, and as another reviewer mentioned, I also wish it was still in print so the authors could get their royalties. It was interesting, and comforting, to read about other women's experiences because where I come from people don't discuss this perfectly normal change that all women must go through.
Seeing menopause through the eyes of such a diverse group of women helped me to realize that each woman's experience is as unique as she is. This is no clinical tome or how-to-deal book. It's about women sharing with other women, one of those traditions that are in danger of becoming extinct.
Seeing menopause through the eyes of such a diverse group of women helped me to realize that each woman's experience is as unique as she is. This is no clinical tome or how-to-deal book. It's about women sharing with other women, one of those traditions that are in danger of becoming extinct.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews