Books

Registered dietitian and journalist Christy Harrison dismantles diet culture — the harmful system that profits from women’s food anxiety — and presents intuitive eating as a radical, evidence-based alternative. Especially relevant during menopause when diet-culture pressure often intensifies.

Sex educator Emily Nagoski uses the science of desire to help women understand their sexuality — why it works, why it doesn’t, and how context shapes arousal. Indispensable for women navigating low libido and changing desire during menopause.

A delightful, illustrated guide to the digestive system — including the gut microbiome’s role in immunity, mental health, and hormonal balance. Menopause dramatically shifts gut bacteria, making this essential background reading.

A board-certified menopause practitioner shares everything she tells her patients, covering hot flashes, sleep disruption, vaginal changes, sexual health, bone loss, and heart disease risk. Clear, accessible, and reassuring.

A comprehensive visual reference covering every aspect of the menopausal transition — symptoms, medical treatments, complementary therapies, and lifestyle strategies — in an accessible, illustrated format.

British television presenter Davina McCall and Dr. Naomi Potter team up to deliver a comprehensive, positive guide to menopause — covering HRT, symptoms, lifestyle, and the significant shift in how menopause is understood and treated in the UK.

Dr. Stacy Sims applies her female physiology expertise specifically to the menopausal transition, with training and nutrition protocols designed to maintain strength, power, and athletic performance through and beyond menopause.

Barbara Walker reclaims the ‘crone’ archetype from its derogatory associations, presenting the post-menopausal woman as a being of power, wisdom, and spiritual authority in pre-patriarchal traditions. A foundational feminist text on aging.

Neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine’s accessible guide to the female brain across the lifespan — including the profound neurological changes that occur in perimenopause and menopause, and how they shape emotion, memory, and behavior.

Neuroscientist Lisa Mosconi reveals how menopause reshapes the brain and what women can do to protect their cognitive health. Groundbreaking and empowering.

Dr. Jen Gunter cuts through menopause misinformation with science, humor, and feminist fire. Tackles HRT, bone health, cardiovascular risk, and medical neglect of menopausal women.

Dr. Mary Claire Haver delivers a comprehensive, evidence-based guide to perimenopause and menopause — hormones, nutrition, sleep, strength training, and mental health.

Intimacy coach Nathalie Dewalhens names a new archetype — the Sensual Crone — for the woman whose desire didn’t vanish at menopause but grew weirder, wilder, and more interesting. Finished on her sixtieth birthday, this frank, unsugarcoated set of five truths runs from vaginal atrophy to neo-tantra to a hotel room in Bruges, insisting that erotic life after reproduction is a beginning, not an epilogue.

Neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine reframes menopause as a neurological upgrade — arguing that the female brain actually improves in focus, decision-making, and emotional regulation after the transition. A profoundly optimistic perspective grounded in neuroscience.

Dr. Jen Gunter’s comprehensive, myth-busting guide to vaginal and vulvar health — including the massive changes menopause brings to genital tissue. Essential reading for any woman who wants accurate, evidence-based information about her body.

Dr. Christiane Northrup treats menopause as a powerful life transition, not a medical problem. Drawing on medicine, psychology, and holistic healing, she guides women through the physical and emotional landscape of the change.

Neuroscientist Dr. Sarah McKay traces the female brain across the whole span of a woman’s life — from girlhood and the menstrual cycle through pregnancy, menopause, and old age — showing how hormones, experience, and biology shape the mind at every stage. For readers over 50, the later chapters on menopause and healthy brain aging are especially resonant, set in the fuller context of a lifetime.

Dr. Lisa Mosconi makes the case that women’s brains age differently — and that women account for roughly two-thirds of Alzheimer’s cases, in large part because of the hormonal shifts of menopause. Grounded in neuroscience, this is a practical roadmap for protecting your memory and cognitive health, with a special focus on the role of estrogen.