This is a very practical and useful book. Gunter offers a no-nonsense approach to menopause that cuts through the misinformation that is the basis for an entire industry of menopause "cures." Her approach is that women should have full information about menopause, as well as about their treatment options, so that they can make decisions about their own body.

As a medical student who greatly values feminism, I knew I had to read this book the instant I first heard about this. And it surely delivered: a great feminist take on menopause, doing an amazing job at walking the line between educational on a medical level while still being accessible to the average reader.

My one complaint would be the formatting - there were still some errors within the text itself, some pages were barely legible, some graphics were missing,....
I'm sure that all of these issues will get resolved upon the release of the book, which will definitely make me bump up my rating once I pick it up for myself!

I really enjoyed Gunter's The Vagina Bible , so I jumped at the opportunity to read this follow-up, even though I'm still a good twenty years away from having to deal with these issues.

The word "menopause" first appears in an 1812 paper by French Dr. De Gardanne, but how or why it became widespread is not exactly known (and Gunter makes a great case for why it is less than ideal). Before "menopause" a variety of other terms were in use, from the good "change of life", to the not-so-great "middle-age decline", to the positively awful "women's inferno", "women's winter", and "death of sex".

Much like her "vagenda" in The Vagina Bible, her menopause manifesto aims to dispel myths rooted in misogyny and empower women through knowledge and facts with a readable blend of expert advice, humor, personal anecdotes, and historic perspective. As expected, this proves harder in this volume: The only predictable thing about menopause is that it's unpredictable, and there is an even greater amount of taboo and misinformation circulating about this topic than any other phase of women's health, all compounded by often inconclusive scientific data due to a lack of research.

With engaging, accessible writing, Gunter goes into the biology of menopause, as well as the pros and cons of available (somewhat US-centric, because of the brand names given) treatments and therapies. Some chapters were denser with information than others, but there is, again, a concise "bottom line" section at the end of each chapter, summarizing the most important take-away points. A lot of the contents were complete news to me, and I think that even just the explanations of symptoms would be reassuring to many who are going through it and feeling alone. There are practical tips and strategies for lifestyle changes that have scientifically proven, positive effects, and don't require a medical professional, such as dietary changes and physical exercise. Because of this, and the sensible way it is structured, it would be a good reference book to have on hand, and I'd recommend it anyone who is approaching the menopausal transition, is currently going through it, or is living with someone who is, and wants to understand this change of life, and be supportive.

Menopause is a planned change in a woman's life, just like puberty, not a disease, and if it was openly discussed and demystified, many women wouldn't suffer bothersome symptoms in silence, either assuming it was something they had to accept as normal, or worse, being dismissed by medical professionals for the same reason after trying to get treatment.

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NOTE: This digital advance copy struck me less as a review copy, and more as a rough draft; it included many placeholders, typos, and other errors, as well as oddly formatted text, and the many tables and diagrams weren't displayed properly—all issues which should hopefully get resolved before the official release, so I didn't let them influence my review or rating.

As a feminist the cover just drew me in automatically! Once I started reading I knew this book would be a 5 star read. The balance between science and real talk was perfect as it didnt feel like a textbook or a monologue at all. This book was also really educational and ha sparked my interest of reading more non-fiction books to open my eyes to discussions such as these. I think everybody should read this book if only to take away one thing as the entire book is filled with important topics that are not talked about as much as they should be.

I'm giving this book 5 stars because I see all the glowing reviews. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get through it. The formatting when I downloaded the book was completely off. The font is HUGE on my paperwhite. There are 6 to 7 spaces between some words and others words have no spaces and just run into one another like a jumbled mess.. I tried to re-download it, but the same thing happened. Such a pity I won't be able to read and share a review because the book sounds promising and the reviews are favorable.

Every woman should read this book. I love the balance of medical history, science, myth, real talk, and personal anecdotes as a way to inform about a natural part of life for half the population that—let's be honest—isn't taught. How have I made it this far in life without knowing more about menopause than that the period stops coming, there might be hot flashes, and some women take hormones when it happens? I'm a little embarrassed about that, but I feel better knowing that the whole purpose Dr. Jen Gunter wrote this book is because I am the norm. Accessibly written and respectful of an intelligent audience, The Menopause Manifesto is a must read for the well-informed woman.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I appreciated the humor in the empathy that the book doles out along with the facts. Definitely would be a good book for a younger person in their 30s just starting to think about reproductive decline as well as one already entering the trenches. I love that the author writes from a feminist place of strength.

Unfortunately this e-galley has kindle formatting issues making it unreadable. The blurb is intriguing

An informative book that doesn't overwhelm you but explain things to you in a way that is easy to understand. I enjoyed Dr. Jen Gunter's other books as well because they are all so well-written. It covers all the important and relevant topics that I want to know. I have learned so much. I would read any books that she writes!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley but my opinions are my own.

As a 50-something woman, I always learn something from Dr. Jen, be it on Twitter or in her books. Her knack for fact based explanations of things that I was certain were just in my head is the kind of truth-telling we need in this world. Dr. Jen always makes me feel like I've got this whole getting older thing. I am forever grateful for her honesty.

I found Gunter's book, "The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina—Separating the Myth from the Medicine extremely helpful even at my relatively advanced age. Needless to say, I was thrilled to find this latest title all about one of my favorite topics, menopause. (Yes, I lead a fairly sad life.). Gunter presents the information in a way that feels like one your best girlfriends is talking with you and sharing super valuable tips. Add this to her experience as an OB/GYN and you have a great combo. If a book on menopause can be "fun" to read, then this is that book. My only slight criticism is that at times the author takes the feminist slant a bit far in her rebuke of the "patriarchy". I would take that aspect of the book with a grain of salt and just focus on the information she is sharing. As a woman who is deep in menopause (sorry, TMI), I learned a lot about my body and found the book to be reassuring as well as informative about other strategies I might explore with diet, MHT, etc. I think this book would be helpful for women approaching perimenopause, those like myself who are in the thick of it, and even for their partners/loved ones to better understand what the woman-of-a-certain age in their life is going through.

This book is a practical, well researched* guide to menopause and the transition to that life stage. The author is an experienced physician who bases her recommendations on published evidence* while also adding some personal anecdotes to humanize the experience of menopause. There are numerous strengths about this book. The author has a progressive, holistic perspective that respects women's experiences and concerns. She believes in shared decision making between a patient and her health care provider. She knows that health is dependent on many factors and explicitly recognizes the influences of racism, adverse childhood experiences, and the economics of U.S. health care.

Although she does not minimize quality of life concerns (above all she is respectful of her audience), she leads the book with a high stakes topic: a discussion of how cardiovascular disease kills far more women than breast cancer does and how menopause, and its therapies, fit into the CVD issue. She moves systematically through the different ways that menopause, and aging in general, can affect a woman's health, noting the prevalence of symptoms so that readers do not feel alone. She concludes with interventions for the symptoms and consequences of menopause. She looks critically both at the medical option of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), including the controversial findings of the Women's Health Initiative study, as well as nutritional supplements and other complementary therapies. As a proponent of shared decision making, the author provides tools for the reader to do her own research and recognize red flags about information sources and content.

Usually when I read advance copies, there are minimal typos and formatting issues. This book is an exception. The numerous font changes and word spacing errors made it difficult to read, and some charts and figures are missing from the body of the text. The various egregious typos ("Success rates vary depressing on the procedure selected,” “a small about of estrogen,” “personal risk benefit ration,” “a prescription fish old supplement”) are amusing but also worrying--will the author, editor, and publishers be able to address them all?

*Even more troubling is the lack of literature references and suggestions for further reading. The author's voice is clear and confident, but she needs to cite the evidence and provide concrete examples when she makes assertions such as, "some vitamins and minerals affect the ability to absorb others so high doses in the intestine from a multivitamin may affect the ability to absorb important nutrients from food." Which vitamins have this effect? What studies have proved it? The final version of this book needs to include references, or else it will be just an opinion piece.

Recommended, after the final revisions have been made, for all readers. The current advance reading copy is not ready for publication.