A powerful, taboo-shattering medical and social history that redresses the myths and delivers the truths about menopause
Meticulously researched and always entertaining, thisbook traces the history of the change of life from its appearance in classical texts and the medical literature of the 18th century to up-to-the-minute contemporary clinical approaches. Formore than 2,000years, attitudes toward menopause have created dread, shame, and confusion. Its progression from natural phenomenon to full-blown pathological condition led to bizarre treatments and often dangerous surgery, and formalized a misogyny which lingers in the treatment of menopausal women today.Delving into the archives, the boudoir, and thedoctor's bag, this book reveals the elements that formed the menopause myth: chauvinism, collusion, trial, error, and secrecy. Absurd assumptions that have persisted through historyare challenged here, such as the ideathat sex stops at menopause, or that aging should be feared.
