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What Fresh Hell Is This?: Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You by Heather Corinna
jennylachs's review against another edition
Great start but just not the right time for me.
ecari's review against another edition
3.0
I didn’t technically finish this book - made it to about 65%. I’m very glad this book was written, but it wasn’t really for me. This may be in part that I read it like any book - trying to go straight through from start to finish but it is probably better used as a reference guide. I was incredibly impressed with the author’s inclusivity in her writing and her approach to advice, guidance, support. Extremely powerful their open arms and heart to everyone and each person’s experience. I found the section on the history of how menopause has been framed and how women experiencing it have been treated very interesting (although both depressing and unsurprising). And I feel extremely confident in saying that menopause can vary dramatically from person to person and there is very little one can predict. However in a straight read, the book is very repetitive and I got tired. Still for any person unsure about menopause, this is a good primer - perhaps just not all at once for everyone.
2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge: A prompt from past challenge - a book about something you know nothing about (but of a stretch this one…)
2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge: A prompt from past challenge - a book about something you know nothing about (but of a stretch this one…)
sara_o's review against another edition
2.0
Unpopular opinion is unpopular. I did not greatly enjoy this book. I'm very glad that it exists, but it was not for me.
The Good:
- The information is solid and presented in a way that's easy to understand.
- It is very inclusive and I'm extremely glad that there is a book written for ALL people who may be experiencing menopause -- cis, trans, non-binary, younger, older.... I was so happy to see and read a book that acknowledged that there are a lot of reasons and ways that a person might experience menopause.
The Not-So-Good:
- Repetitive. So repetitive. If I had to read "ya basics" one more time, I'm not sure I could have been responsible for my actions. The information is solid and presented in a way that's easy to understand. <<= If you didn't get it the first time, you definitely got it by the 13th time it's mentioned.
- The writing style was fun for a chapter or two, but I found it really rough after a couple chapters. I ended up having to re-read sentences over and over again, frequently reading them out loud in order to parse them properly. It was casual to the point of being difficult to read.
- Repetitive. So repetitive.
- Repetitive. So repetitive.
In reality, this would have been a 4 or 5 star book if all the repetition had been cut out and it had been slightly reorganized. It also would have been a third as long and wouldn't have taken me 2 months to slog through.
Still. Important that this information is out there, and that it is written in a way that is inclusive and welcoming.
The Good:
- The information is solid and presented in a way that's easy to understand.
- It is very inclusive and I'm extremely glad that there is a book written for ALL people who may be experiencing menopause -- cis, trans, non-binary, younger, older.... I was so happy to see and read a book that acknowledged that there are a lot of reasons and ways that a person might experience menopause.
The Not-So-Good:
- Repetitive. So repetitive. If I had to read "ya basics" one more time, I'm not sure I could have been responsible for my actions. The information is solid and presented in a way that's easy to understand. <<= If you didn't get it the first time, you definitely got it by the 13th time it's mentioned.
- The writing style was fun for a chapter or two, but I found it really rough after a couple chapters. I ended up having to re-read sentences over and over again, frequently reading them out loud in order to parse them properly. It was casual to the point of being difficult to read.
- Repetitive. So repetitive.
- Repetitive. So repetitive.
In reality, this would have been a 4 or 5 star book if all the repetition had been cut out and it had been slightly reorganized. It also would have been a third as long and wouldn't have taken me 2 months to slog through.
Still. Important that this information is out there, and that it is written in a way that is inclusive and welcoming.
jilljarvis's review
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Very informative book on the impact of menopause. I was surprised to learn how trauma can impact so much throughout our lives, even menopause. I appreciated the nonbinary approach the authors took.
cinnachick's review against another edition
5.0
This is the essential textbook for anyone who will go through menopause, but also for anyone who knows someone who will go through menopause. I wish I’d read this book years before I started menopause so I knew what to expect. But so much of my experience the last few years was illuminated while reading this book. I’m so grateful to the author for this book. It’s the most life-affirming book about aging and perimenopause and menopause I’ve ever read.
nodressrehearsals's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.25
This book was very informative. It presents information via personal experience. It gives a lot of possibilities one can experience and acknowledges how much (peri) menopause varies.
I think it's a worthwhile read for every woman (even before beginning the potential hell) and man. About half of the world's population will experience this, it shouldn't be considered obscure or special knowledge.
I think it's a worthwhile read for every woman (even before beginning the potential hell) and man. About half of the world's population will experience this, it shouldn't be considered obscure or special knowledge.
zinelib's review against another edition
5.0
This is everything I've been waiting for in a perimenopause book. The key element is the "I" voice. The author is an expert in their own experience who has also done their research in what the menopausal transition might be like for others. They are also honest about what a reader may expect. They touch on what perimenopause might be like for people experiencing medical menopause, e.g., cancer survivors, as well as people assigned male or female at birth but have transitioned to another gender via hormones or surgery. However, they alert the reader that they won't feel as seen in What Fresh Hell Is This as they may in book written specifically for their own population. And yet they attempt to touch on the issues and experiences of people going through a different kind of menopause. They are clear, too, that everyone's menopause is different.
Corinna is a GenXer who writes with a gentle authority--again, using a first person narrative or by interviewing people holding other facial, ethnic, and gender identities from theirs, as well as people with disabilities of which Corinna is one. Their expertise doesn't have the ring of "I Am The Expert" that other medical and medical adjacent books I've read do.
I've also read more casual books, comics, and zines that deal with perimenopause. While they can be a lot of fun, none of them has provided the symptom by symptom rundown that Corinna does. It is reassuring, or maybe preassuring for people earlier in the meno that periods are likely to get closer together before they get farther apart. You might have flooding periods. They're normally--but here's how to recognize when they're not. I wish I'd had WFHIT five years ago. I also wish partners and family members and anyone who lives with people going through The Change would read the book. My cohabitant is going to!
Corinna is a GenXer who writes with a gentle authority--again, using a first person narrative or by interviewing people holding other facial, ethnic, and gender identities from theirs, as well as people with disabilities of which Corinna is one. Their expertise doesn't have the ring of "I Am The Expert" that other medical and medical adjacent books I've read do.
I've also read more casual books, comics, and zines that deal with perimenopause. While they can be a lot of fun, none of them has provided the symptom by symptom rundown that Corinna does. It is reassuring, or maybe preassuring for people earlier in the meno that periods are likely to get closer together before they get farther apart. You might have flooding periods. They're normally--but here's how to recognize when they're not. I wish I'd had WFHIT five years ago. I also wish partners and family members and anyone who lives with people going through The Change would read the book. My cohabitant is going to!
superdilettante's review against another edition
5.0
This IS the perimenopause book I've been waiting for. Rather than wading through oceans of patriarchal BS about making sure not to disrupt other people while you retain your supple flexibility and people-pleasing properties, this book acknowledges, names, and even celebrates the many transformational experiences of peri- and menopause. What you'll find: discussion about sexual and body changes; how to cope with other people when you want to tell them all to f off; radical self-care; calling in and being part of support systems; radical acceptance. What you won't find, and thank the Lumpy Space Princess for this: transphobia/transexclusionary language, misogyny, queer erasure, capitulation.
Extra super special points for Heather Corinna's listing their special webpage in the appendix - it includes great playlists, drink recipes, and the hilarious (and perpetually necessary) acknowledgement that sometimes that cool punk person from days of yore is now deeply problematic and probably should just be shelved for the time being.
I recommend this book to ANYONE who knows ANYONE who is, was, or will experience menopause.
I received a proof of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Extra super special points for Heather Corinna's listing their special webpage in the appendix - it includes great playlists, drink recipes, and the hilarious (and perpetually necessary) acknowledgement that sometimes that cool punk person from days of yore is now deeply problematic and probably should just be shelved for the time being.
I recommend this book to ANYONE who knows ANYONE who is, was, or will experience menopause.
I received a proof of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
thaumata's review against another edition
4.0
It's an informative book but I could have done without so much sarcasm and attitude. I found myself skipping all the complaint sections just to get the facts.