New book addresses the elephant in the room: perimenopause

VANCOUVER, Oct. 24, 2018 /CNW/ - What is perimenopause? It's the transition from a woman's reproductive years to menopause. It's different for every woman but perimenopause can begin as early as thirty-five and as late as fifty-nine, and it can last from five to fifteen years. The term perimenopause wasn't coined until the 1990s.

Shirley Weir is the founder of MenopauseChicks.com and the author of a new book called MOKITA. Her goal is for all of us to stop thinking of perimenopause and menopause as synonyms for suffering, help women avoid the overwhelming task of sorting through all the myths and misconceptions, and to empower women with up-to-date information, relatable case studies and a promise that YOU ARE NOT ALONE. (CNW Group/Menopause Chicks)

Releasing on Amazon October 24: MOKITA (which means "elephant in the room") aims to empower women to navigate perimenopause with more confidence ease. Co-authored by 13 women's health professionals, it also enables women to get informed and build their own midlife health team. (CNW Group/Menopause Chicks)

That makes perimenopause a relatively new term to describe a phase of life experienced by 100% of women. Shirley Weir, founder of Menopause Chicks, believes that might be the reason there are still so few resources available to women. She has written a book to address this gap in women's health, and it's called Mokita, which means "elephant in the room."

The book addresses what Weir thinks has kept women from getting adequately informed before they reach midlife: all the myths and misconceptions. Then Weir and 13 women's health care professionals, set the record straight with the most up-to-date information, sage advice and relatable case studies.

"The goal is to empower women to be as informed and proactive as possible," states Weir. "Perimenopause is easier to navigate when a woman feels confident and she can ditch the outdated stereotypes."

In addition to creating an easy-to-read guide for women, Weir also advocates for changing how media portrays midlife.

"Women need to know perimenopause and menopause are not synonyms for suffering," she says. For example, she wants every woman to understand she is not meant to pee when she laughs, hot flashes are not the first sign of perimenopause but changes to bleeding and breast tenderness often are, and there is sex after menopause.

"There is a lot of confusing and conflicting information when it comes to women's health, hormone health and midlife health and we want Mokita to save women from having to read thirty books or scour the internet for days in order to answer questions about her own health."

Mokita: how to navigate perimenopause with confidence and ease launches on Amazon.ca today, October 24.

About the Author:

Shirley Weir introduces herself as a Menopause Chick. Sore boobs, sleep deprivation, depression and brain fog led Shirley to her doctor's office, the book store and "Dr. Google," but she was left feeling confused, overwhelmed and alone. So she created Menopause Chicks to empower women to talk openly about perimenopause and menopause, to navigate midlife health information and to connect with women's health professionals. Now she leads a private online community that fields an average of 15,000 questions and comments every month. Members regard the group as a trustworthy space to get their questions answered and to confirm they are not alone. Her first book, Mokita: How to navigate perimenopause with confidence and ease, hits Amazon on Wednesday, October 24.

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SOURCE Menopause Chicks

Shirley Weir, 604.817.1497, [email protected]