Mentalpause : . . . and Other Midlife Laughs

by Laura Jensen Walker

Do you often forget the words for common things, like “husband” or “bathtub”? Have you suddenly found sub-zero temperatures pleasant? Do you survive on chocolate supplements? Ask these questions of any woman who has been through menopause, is going through it, or is soon to hit it, and she’ll say yes (and then, most likely, cry). Laura Jensen Walker went into early menopause after her bout with cancer and can sympathize with other “mentalpause” sufferers and survivors. As in Thanks for the Mammogram!, she uses hilarious vignettes and a delightful mix of wit and wisdom to connect with her readers. With chapters about how “All Varicose Veins Lead to Rome” and “PMS Is a Picnic in the Park,” this book helps women dealing with “mentalpause” and those around them gain a better understanding—and certainly a lighter attitude—about this passage of life. Mentalpause . . . and Other Midlife Laughs will get readers laughing at themselves as they hear Laura lightheartedly describe her age spots, lament her sagging everything, and look anew at love after forty.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Comedy, Christian

176 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2001

About the author

Award-winning author Laura Jensen Walker has written several books, including the Lefty nominated historical fiction, DEATH OF A FLYING NIGHTINGALE. Dubbed "riveting and affecting" by NYT bestselling author Susan Elia MacNeal, this book spotlights a group of real-life overlooked women heroes--the Flying Nightingales--from WWII. An Air Force veteran formerly stationed in the UK, Laura had the great honor of interviewing the last living Flying Nightingale, before she passed.

Bibliophile Laura fell in love with mysteries after reading Trixie Belden in the fourth grade, Her cozy mystery debut, MURDER MOST SWEET (2020) was nominated for an Agatha Award, and her next cozy, THE ALPHABET SLEUTHS, releases in Feb. 2026. Publishers Weekly says about the book: "Walker's feisty, funny, and fully realized seniors easily sit beside the casts of THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB and THE MARLOW MURDER CLUB in the coy pantheon. Readers will be charmed."

THE POSTMISTRESS OF PUDDLINGTON, Laura's second historical novel, features women on the home front in WWII England and releases in August 2026. She is currently at work on a women's fiction novel (aka book club fiction.)

Laura flew a typewriter across Europe in Uncle Sam's Air Force in her twenties, and lived in England for three years where she became a lifelong, tea-loving Anglophile. Shenow lives in Northern California with her Renaissance-man husband and their two rescue pups.

Reviews

[Veronica ⭐️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I marvel at Laura Jensen Walker’s ability to find humour in situations I would want to break down and weep.
If you are over 50 there is plenty in this short book that will have you nodding along and chuckling to yourself.

Hot flushes, night sweats, age spots, arm flaps, bifocals, brain fade, chin hair, crows feet, double chin, nothing escapes Walker’s witty sense of humour.

The book closes with a list of 60 things to rejoice and live by, no matter your age. Read the list or make your own. Keep it close as a reminder each day to be good to yourself and relax and learn to be comfortable in your middle-age skin; saggy as it may be.

[SheLove2Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at a good time in my life, because not only did I *need* the laugh, I understood every bit of it! I'm only 44 but I'm experiencing parts of "The Change" early and reading the author's experiences (and other contributors) made me feel not so lost in this new world of "mentalpause". *g*

Broken down into small chapters, this can easily be picked up and put down at will, although I found myself reading large sections at a time because it was just so true! When's my birthday again? Why does the UPS commercial make me cry? Are hot flashes universal or just happening to me? These are all topics that the author covers and then some. If you're a woman going through a midlife crisis or are about to, I recommend this short but highly funny read. You are not alone!

3.5 stars

[Jeri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very humorous! Being past that 40 mark myself and beginning to experience many of these symptoms myself without the benefit of having a mother around to ask advice I found it somewhat uplifting and reassuring.

[Havebooks Willread · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just a light little read I had on my kindle and decided to read while on an airplane. I have a couple of friends who are starting to experience some menopausal symptoms, and most of my friends have passed that 40 milestone, so it made me chuckle to hear some of my friends' voices in the author's words. While the book isn't incredibly well-done, and is mostly silly, it still contained a few good nuggets I enjoyed.

"We have to savor every moment and make it last. Yesterday is gone. We have little control over tomorrow. All we have is today! It's up to us not to waste it. And in my opinion, a hearty laugh is proof that we haven't wasted the day."

"Some of us can get pretty hung up on our bodies--thinking flat stomachs, slender legs, and unlined faces define us. . .I'm not my breasts. Or my thighs. Or my gray hairs. Or my crow's feet. Or even my upper arms. What I am is a child of God."

"The best mirror is an old friend." --George Herbert (LOVE that one!)

"After a certain number of years, our faces become our biographies." --Cynthia Ozick

[Lori Henrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a laugh out loud book. As a girl growing up menopause was something whispered about in our family. No one really talked about it. I knew what it was, but no one really wants to talk about it or admit that it is something that they are going through. I loved Laura's way of sharing information in a very humorous way. It was informative and hilarious.

I have read one other book fiction book by this author. I am normally not a non-fiction type person unless it is a story about animals. But I just couldn't resist this title.

[Julie Graves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book totally made me laugh out loud! So many stories that the author told I would say, " I have had that happen to me!!" In fact one of the first stories in the book was how women in menopause can look at an object and the word for it not even come to mind. I had just gotten done trying to tell my daughter something about a box and couldn't figure out the word box!!! I was making the shape of the box with my hands, the word box was in my head somewhere, it just wouldn't come out of my mouth! Oh my! So when I read that in the book I was much relieved that other women experience the same thing. For a light-hearted look at hot-flashes, age spots and the mid-life spread Mental-Pause is the book for you!

[Aimee · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a woman who is approaching Mentalpause, but not quite there yet, I was hoping to find a little more concrete information than just laughing at all the crazy things that happen to us as we age. Though I could relate to some of them and laughed out loud at others, there were times it felt like I was trapped in a room with Cloris Leachman: funny in small doses, but too much can be overwhelming. Overall, I applaud the author's effort to talk about issues that women don't often talk about and to help us know that we are not alone in these changes. I'd probably give it closer to 3 stars.

[Debra Wake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a laugh out loud book that you want to share with your sisters who understand. It is the type of book that is funny partly because it is true. The chapters are short enough that the book is easily read. The author is a breast cancer survivor who went through menopause early as a result of it. Women who have been through menopause, are going through menopause or know someone who has gone through menopause will appreciate this book.

[Noreen Braman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A battle with cancer brings the author face-to-face with menopause a little earlier than expected, yet she is able to see the funny and the ironic in the situation. She mines the experiences of friends and relations and comes up with gems — like her sudden realization why older female relatives all seemed to be sweating at the same time. A light-hearted read about "that certain time of life."

[Loree · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far this is a humorous book which is a nice break from reading fiction and just have a few laughs. There were a lot of funny things to relate to in this book, :( but I think it's good to not take this stuff so seriously. Women have been surviving...well, WOMANHOOD, forever!

[Angie Vallejo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read; witty. Always a comfort to know someone out there is going through what you are!

[Mardee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just not that funny

It may be because I am on the other side of this change, but I just didn't find this either funny or inspiring. It felt just like a bunch of lists and essays on all the things that you lose in midlife, with a little "but my life is great" at the end. Thankfully it's fairly short so I didn't invest that much time in it.

[Lisa Huinker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely hilarious! I belly laughed out loud at times!! It's a quick read and for those of us having our own personal summers, it's a must read! I could identify with just about everything in the book. Fantastic!

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humorous look at menopause.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing look at getting older.

[Shanna Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Made light of all the symptoms that drive a woman nuts in this time of life. It makes you look at it another way. Quick read .

[Mickalene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giving credit for her willingness to laugh at herself! This was a lighthearted and appreciated fun book to read.

[Kathleen Kurlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book on a "Used Books" table and being the sucker that I am for inexpensive books, I took a chance on it. Being knee-deep in the middle of my own menopause journey, I thought this book might provide me with a few laughs and perhaps a fresh comedic outlook on what is becoming an extremely difficult trial in my life. While I'm sure the author and her friends and family find her to be quite funny, I'm afraid her humor was lost on me as she didn't say anything in this book that I haven't already heard or thought myself. Perhaps menopause has merely sucked my creative, comedic juices dry and my sense of humor has dried up along with everything else at this stage in my life, but I would say this book was merely average. To its credit, the book was very short and a very quick read.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a woman gets older, among other things, there are memory lapses, hot flashes, weight gain, varicose veins, and wrinkles. Since there is nothing we can do about it, Laura Jensen Walker tells it like it is. Her chapters are short and her stories light. She does give lots of anecdotes about her own experiences and some of her friends and acquaintances, so we can understand that we are not alone. This was a quick read and a lot of fun.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, maybe it's because I'm not there (YET) but I didn't find this book THAT funny. It had some moments and like I said, maybe I just can't relate to it yet. I did appreciate the author sharing her testimony and it is always good to read how God has touched a life which this author has experienced in many wonderful ways. I look forward to reading other books by her.

[D.G. Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good read with lots of chuckles and recognizable moments along the way. An insight into some of the symptoms women encounter along the meno path and how they are dealt with, recognized and make you laugh, of course the laughing is after you've gone through it.

[Java · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I couldn't relate to many of the tales in this book. The author talks about how her Christian faith influences her experiences, and while there's nothing wrong with that, it didn't appeal to me personally. It is a light read, not bad, but not to my taste.

[Diane Eskridge · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book along side 100 ways to motivate yourself thinking the silly would balance the serious but it had quite the opposite effect. Mental pause tho i could relate to everything the book speaks of did not really speak to me. This was much to light reading for me.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are over 40 this book hits too close to home - but it will make you laugh too!

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not very funny, in my opinion. Disappointing.

[Jean]

Funny and unfourtunately I can relate to alot of what it said

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ain't there yet, but a very cute read, fun stories and anecdotes. A good laugh for those going through Mental Pause.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read for those going through menopause.

[Kimmie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as funny as I had hoped it would be.

[Mandi F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Funny and oh so true!