Rating: 
Summary: 2 Extraordinary Books For Mid-Lifers
Review: As I hit my late 30's I began to notice changes in my life, my mood, my sex drive and even my spending habits. By themselves I didn't think it was a big deal but then I saw Dr. Northrup and Nancy Lloyd on television talking about menopause and finances, respectively. What each said really hit home. Like a lot of women my age I was coasting through what I considered a normal life. It's not that I was unhappy but I knew that I could have felt more satisfied. This book by Dr. Northrup and "SIMPLE MONEY SOLUTIONS" by Nancy Lloyd have shown me how to take charge of my life, resolve unfinished family business and start to realize some life-long dreams. I have started taking some estrogen replacement per Dr. Northrup and have finally dealt with my finances per Nancy Lloyd. The difference in my life and relationships is astounding. I feel like a different person. With the fear of menopause and credit card debt no longer hanging over my head I'm told I even look younger. "THE WISDOM OF MENOPAUSE" and "SIMPLE MONEY SOLUTIONS" are life changing books. I can't recommend them too highly!
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Summary: All the things your mother DIDN'T tell you!
Review: Alright, your 50th birthday is just around the corner, your children are leaving the nest, you finally have time to do all the things you planned, and now you feel as if your mind and body are on overload and about to short-circuit! Your mother may have told you what to expect as you entered your teens, but how many mothers told you what to expect when you were fifty? Hot flashes, cold sweats, peculiar aches and pains you never had before - don't worry, you aren't going insane...it's the rest of the world that is going crazy! Throughout the pages of this book, you will find great comfort in knowing you are experiencing a perfect normal reaction (however, "unnatural" it may seem at the time)to a perfectly normal life process. A positive attitude can make a world of difference and this excellent book answers all the questions that your mother probably never told you. It is a great book and one every woman approaching menopause should read. A positive attitude and a healthy and active lifestyle can make all the difference in the world.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Start, but Needs More Focus to Be Truly Helpful
Review: This book has some very useful information, but there is no attempt to discuss the research base for complementary treatments. For example, there is research accumulating that black cohosh and flaxseeds are safe and effective measures for hotflashes and other menopause changes. As host of the menopause web site for bellaonline.com, I get a lot of questions from women about these approaches. I wish Dr. Northrup had examined the better researched ones instead of discussing Tarot cards. Also, her discussion of her own divorce took away from the focus of the book. In many health care situations, it is often the nurse or nurse practitioner who answers women's menopause questions and I'm looking forward to a book that presents menopause from this point of view. Carolyn Chambers Clark, RN, ARNP, EdD
Board-Certified Holistic Practitioner
http://Menopause.bellaonline.com
Rating:
Summary: Menopause- a time for personal empowerment and breaking free
Review: I can't praise this book enough. I subscribed to Dr. Northrup's newsletter for years and got a lot of excellent women's health advice from it. Now she expands on the topic of menopause and perimenopause (the lesser understood, long preliminary phase leading to menopause or change of life.) The book contains valuable health information (are wild yam creams effective or not as an estrogen replacement substitute?), help for overcoming hot flashes (soy milk and tofu are amazingly effective) insomnia, weight gain and depression. There is a resource section for obtaining various helpful products. Most interesting is the explanation Northrup gives that "the lifting of the veil of hormones" liberates women and rewires their brains for what can be the most powerful, passionate and creative phase of life. I believe this, because I watched my mother reach the peak of her career at this stage, and now I am experiencing some of that myself. I love having an explanation of the changes and why I think and feel differently than I did ever before. Northrup is a medical doctor, but she is a proponent of alternative medicine and such ideas as feng shui. The alternative slant of this book may not please every reader, but there is plenty of scientifically-backed information with medical backing from the more conventional viewpoint. All cultures have universal archetypes (symbols) of women; the maiden (virgin, eternally youthful, non-sexual),the mother (nurturer, sexual, fertile) the matriarch (sexual, powerful, leader) and the crone (wise, aged, non-sexual) Northrup focuses on the biological changes that match with the matriarch stage of life. Understanding the brain changes, bodily changes, and most importantly the role change from mother to matriarch can help women achieve their full potential. Northrup explains how menopause can usher in the most creatively inspired, and professionally productive phase of life. Don't miss taking full advantage of what could be the most rewarding stage of life.
Rating:
Summary: A Flawless Roadmap for Surviving the "Transition Years"
Review: Dr. Northrup's book, The Wisdom of Menopause, provides women with a clearly marked roadmap for making the biologically scripted transition to menopause from an informed, confidant position. Her carefully considered discussions about hormone replacement--bioidentical or synthetic, foods & supplements, libido issues, osteoporosis, breast and heart health, as well as the "Resources" section brimming with detailed information on each major topic, help arm women with the understanding and tools needed to intelligently consult with their physicians about this perfectly natural process. The pharmaceutical industry tends to encourage the misguided view that menopause is a "disease" best treated with standarized doses of synthetic hormones; ones that bolster company profits--naturally! Yet, as Doctor Northrup makes clear, transition is not a "one size fits all" experience. Women's bodies and life experiences differ tremendously; hence the logic of individualized, holistic transition programs. Thanks to caring doctors like Christiane Northrup, gone are the days of blind deference to physicians who think that a pat on the head and a prescription for synthetic hormones will get you out of their hair! Bravo Doctor Northrup! Her book should be required reading for any woman (or man, for that matter) over the age of 35.
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Summary: Menopause is more than hot flashes, night sweats and HRT
Review: This book was recommended to me by a holistic therapist when I was talking about all the chaos that has decended into my life. She said that "its part of menopause" and refered this book. She was so right. From the moment I started reading it, I started identifying with a lot of the things that she was saying. In reading many of the other reviews, I feel that most the one star people never got beyond the first few chapters. They never saw the indepth discussions on building bones, the discussions on why you start gaining weight even though you haven't changed your diet or excercise, or the discussion of heart health. They were turned off by her discussions of her personal life and experience...everyone of which mentioned the tarot card references which were such a small part and only mentioned in the beginning! I thought it made her more human. Nor did I feel she was telling us to ditch everyone in our lives. What I picked up and what I really do feel is important is that we need to constantly reevaluate our live, keep what IS working and change (not neccessarily discard)what isn't and unfortunately, most of us don't do that till our lives go haywire. Menopause is a major haywire occurances. One of the things that drew me to the book and her attitude is that she approaches everything from an 'understand what is happaning, understand your options, decide what is best for you' point of view. In particular, in this 'here take a pill for that' world we live in, her change your lifestyle first and if that doesn't work, then let's look at the medication and surgical answers was very refreshing. Menopause is so much more than hot flashes and night sweats and to have one book that goes into all the health issues (physical, mental, and emotional) that we face in this stage of our lives was extremely helpful to me. I highly recommend this book...and if you don't want to hear about her personal experiences, skip Chapter 1, and only want to deal with the medical part, start with Chapter 4.
Rating: 
Summary: Medical Information or Rage Against Men
Review: While this book has some very helpful and interesting things in it (i.e., herbs, Chakras, tarot, etc.), I couldn't help feeling a thread of anger directed towards men. It took away from the book. I think we have to be very careful of going from one extreme to another--the one case of being/feeling subservient to men to the other case of being completely separated from men. In my opinion, either extreme is very unhealthy. While it would also be unhealthy for people to stay in relationships that are debilitating to EITHER partner, it would also be unhealthy to cut people out of our lives because of our hormones. (Although if I've understood Dr. Northup correctly, it's not just the hormones, but also the baggage we carry that's part of the problem.) Perhaps when we feel comfortable in our own feminity, we won't feel threatened by men. This being the case, the book should have a different title, as it's misleading, in my opinion. You think you're going to read about how to deal, accept and/or handle menopause, and instead you get a bunch of what I call "ranting."
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Summary: A doctor who has lived what she's writing about
Review: I have been a fan of Dr. Northrup's for years, since Womens Bodies, Womens Wisdom. She has struggled with the "established" ways of treating women's unique health problems for years, putting her medical practice and her reputation on the line repeatedly. She pulls it all together in this book, both the mainstream and alternative treatments that have worked for her patients. No, I'm not into the tarot cards, chakras, and some of the woo-woo stuff either (like other reviewers) but I'm happy to at least know about it. Some readers object to the recounting of her divorce -- "Does that mean I have to get rid of my husband to start my new life?" Oh please, this is her story and you have yours, we can all acknowledge that, can't we? God Bless You, Dr. Northrup, for your courage in addressing so many areas of physical and emotional health for midlife women.
Rating:
Summary: You're Not Alone!
Review: This excellent overview of what happens to women in menopause and perimenopause isn't just a laundry list of symptoms, or the usual hormone-centric look at the issue. Instead, Dr. Northrup cites examples from her own passage, turning the text into a mind-body-spirit analysis of how menopause is literally the "change of life." The most fascinating aspect of the book is the author's description of how women's actual brain wiring changes during menopause -- from the selfless nurturing of the childbearing years to a more autonomous focus during the second half of life. The best aspect is the book's focus on empowerment, and how women who understand the process of menopause can use the changes they're going through to reassess their lives. A must-read for every woman, no matter how old they are.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book
Review: This book not only covered the physical elements, but also explained the emotional roller coaster that is often neglected.
I found her suggestions both useful, and thought provoking
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