The Adventures of Swamp Woman
Menopause - Essays on the Edge
by
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There are a lot of edgy, transitional women out there. I am one of them. With nearly thirty-two million of us today and an estimated forty-five million by the year 2020 on the frontlines of menopause battling hot flashes, night sweats, heart palpitations, mood swings, and sleepless nights, there is a need for acknowledgement, understanding, and most of all honesty about a major change in women’s lives.
Life sneaks up on us when we aren’t looking. As children we feel we’re pushing against a headwind and can’t wait to grow up, as elders we’re reaching back for our youth. In between we are a large population of very confused people. Twenty-somethings are still playing around with priorities. Thirty-year-olds begin to get a glimpse of the movement of time but are too busy owning the world to pay it much attention. Those in their forties are feeling their power but getting nervous at the same time about losing it. Fifty-pluses, who used to be able to start thinking about retirement and planning long vacations, are wondering whether they should start a new career. Over sixties, who were not only over the hill briefly ago in our social history but ancient, aren’t anymore. The definition of the hill has changed as our population gets older and retains competence longer. That means there are a lot more of us approaching the hill than ever before but still actively involved in life. No wonder there is confusion.
The movement of life through the new hill, wherever that may be, is tough for men but intense for women. Not only do we have to deal with the numbers but also with the physical and emotional storms that knock on our doors and enter even when not invited in. The passage through menopause used to be the entrance into old age. Not anymore. If you think that because your children are grown and out of the house, that you have put in the requisite number of years at your job, that your mortgage is finally paid up, you are going to have it easy, forget it. Life goes on post children, post period, post retirement, post everything up to your final breath. The only thing you can count on is that life changes and you will change with it.
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About the Book
Menopause is always talking to women: in our 30s when we hear our biological clocks ticking; in our 40s when we begin to see changes in our bodies; in our 50s when the night sweats keep us awake and the hot flashes interfere with our work, and we question our sexuality and our femininity; in our 60s when we are often feeling passed over and overlooked.
Now, with nearly 32 million of us, and an estimated 45 million by the year 2020, on the frontlines of menopause battling hot flashes, night sweats, heart palpitations, mood swings, and sleepless nights, there is a need for acknowledgment, understanding, and most of all honesty about a major change in women’s lives.
The Adventures of Swamp Woman is that acknowledgement. Swamp Woman talks back to menopause in these sassy, brassy real-life essays and provides us with an opportunity to look at midlife through new eyes, to laugh at ourselves, to commiserate, and to share our common experiences.
Ferida Wolff has contributed stories to the Chicken Soup for the Soul and Chocolate for the Woman’s Soul series and is the author of Listening Outside Listening Inside, a book of inspirational stories about listening to our inner messages. Her essays appear in newspapers and magazines across the country. She also has published fifteen books for children.
About the Author
Ferida Wolff started her writing career by freelancing as a feature writer for newspapers and magazines. She went on to write books for children, publishing with HarperCollins, Random House, Houghton Mifflin Company, Little Brown and Company, William Morrow, Scholastic Books and The Jewish Publication Society. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Moment Magazine and Mature Years and she is a contributor to the Chicken Soup for the Soul and the Chocolate for the Woman’s Soul series. Her first book for adults, Listening Outside Listening Inside, is a collection of inspirational stories about listening to our inner messages. Please visit www.feridawolff.com