Off the Rag: Lesbians Writing on Menopause

by Lee Lynch (editor), Akia Woods (Editor)

An anthology of some of the best lesbian writers offering a powerful view of their menopausal lives.

Genres: Nonfiction, Lesbian, LGBT

234 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

Lee Lynch published her first lesbian fiction in “The Ladder” in the 1960s. Naiad Press issued Toothpick House, Old Dyke Tales, and more. Her novel The Swashbuckler was presented in NYC as a play scripted by Sarah Schulman. New Victoria Publishers brought out Rafferty Street, the last book of Lynch’s Morton River Valley Trilogy. Her backlist is becoming available in electronic format from Bold Strokes Books. Her newest novels are Beggar of Love and The Raid from Bold Strokes. Her recent short stories can be found in Romantic Interludes (Bold Strokes Books), Women In Uniform (Regal Crest) and at www.readtheselips.com. Her reviews and feature articles have appeared in such publications as “The San Francisco Chronicle,” “The Advocate” and “The Lambda Book Report.” Lynch’s syndicated column, “The Amazon Trail,” runs in venues such as boldstrokesbooks.com, justaboutwrite.com, “Letters From Camp Rehoboth,” and “On Top Magazine.”

Lee Lynch was honored by the Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) as the first recipient (for The Swashbuckler) and namesake of The Lee Lynch Classics Award, which will honor outstanding works in Lesbian Fiction published before awards and honors were given. She also is a recipient of the Alice B. Reader Award for Lesbian Fiction, the James Duggins Mid-Career Author Award, which honors LGBT mid-career novelists of extraordinary talent and service to the LGBT community, and was inducted into the Saints and Sinners Literary Hall of Fame. In 2010 Beggar of Love received the GCLS Ann Bannon Readers’ Choice Award and the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Bronze Award in Gay/Lesbian Fiction. She has twice been nominated for Lambda Literary Awards and her novel Sweet Creek (Bold Strokes Books) was a GCLS award finalist.

She lives in rural Florida with her wife.

Reviews

[Jen Chenault · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different approach to menopause and theories of middle age. Worth reading

[Lex]

I read Sarah Dreher's contribution '"Don't Worry, Dear, It's Really All in Your Glands"' as part of my quest to read everything she has ever written. I debated finishing the collection (DNFing is so boring, especially when you have to shelve it on here and admit that you gave up) but I decided it would be futile. I'm a teenager, so menopause is not exactly a primary concern of mine, and I don't really find stories about people's personal lives interesting unless I'm already familiar with their work. I know of and like a couple of the authors (hey, Joan Nestle!), but I only show this level of dedication (reading about subjects I'm not invested in) for my absolute favourites.

At least, now that I've shelved this, I can come back when I need it. Maybe sooner than anticipated; who knows?

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Partial finish here, doubt I’ll come back. Tough for me to get into in the many months I had it checked out from the library.