Menopause with Science and Soul: A Guidebook for Navigating the Journey
by Dr. Judith Boice
Menopause
With Science and Soul: A Guidebook for Navigating the Journey |
Nautilus Silver Award
*** Library Journal named this book one of the
Best Consumer Health Books of 2007.
*** Award: Menopause
With Science and Soul,
was honored with a silver medal in the 2009
Nautilus
Book Awards.
**** Starred review, Library Journal:****
On the continuum of menopause books, this title lies somewhere between Susun
Weed's New Menopausal Years and Christiane Northrup's The Wisdom of
Menopause with its blend of spirituality, holistic health, and user-friendly
women's health advice. Defining menopause as a journey rather than a phase,
or, worse yet, a crisis, naturopathic physician Boice outlines strategies to
help women develop healthful habits and make informed choices that will
enrich every aspect of their lives. Whether discussing phyto-estrogens,
hormone-replacement therapy, or nutrition, Boice maintains her spiritual
focus by emphasizing transformation and including personal reflections that
reveal diverse menopausal experiences. In the chapter on bone health, Boice
compares the physical support provided by the skeletal system to the moral
support provided by our belief systems, still succeeding in delivering an
especially lucid explanation of how high-protein diets affect calcium
levels. Moreover, this book has the power to motivate even the most
skeptical readers to meditate and practice creative visualization.
Recommended for large public libraries and health collections.-
Blanche Angelo, Livermore P.L., CA
From the Isabella Catalog:
My menses stopped abruptly when I was forty, which catapulted me into
menopause without any preparation or guidance and was a source of suffering
for many years. I became an avid reader of books on menopause, wishing to
know how to support myself and other women in making this life transition
healthfully and with greater ease and grace. I wish Judith Boice had been
writing in those years. Her book is a wonderful resource and guide. What I
love most about it is the interweaving of “science and soul.” Boice is a
naturopath and offers the latest medical studies and practical know-how
about every aspect of menopause a woman might face — bone health, hot flashes,
whether to do hormone replacement therapy, how diet and exercise help, the dangers
of xenoestrogens in our environment, the role of phytoestrogens, etc. Right alongside
all this important information are remedies for the soul — stories, visions, and
rituals to guide our way. In addition, there are personal writings from some very
wise women regarding their own menopausal experiences Clarissa Pinkola Estes,
Vicki Noble, Brook Medicine Eagle, Caitlin Mathews, and many more. Boice includes
women from all spiritual paths and embraces the diverse and unique ways we each traverse
this important passage. There is wisdom and true guidance here. I would say it’s one of
the best books on menopause available today.
What readers have to say:
There's this book sitting in front of the computer beckoning me. Menopause with Science
and Soul: A Guidebook for Navigating the Journey. (by Judith Boice) It's my book, man.
There's a lovely pastel sketch on the cover that's an echo of the drawing I made on
those self-identifying "business" cards I made under the art therapy direction of
Lee Hilfiker years ago. The ones on which I depicted myself as a "spiritual explorer."
On my card I drew ocean waves, a little boat with one sail, and a big sky with dancing
stars and whirling galaxies. This book cover illustration has a little boat with one
bent-over sail, ocean swells, and a sky full of varied-sized orbs, celestial bodies.
Maybe there's an abstract human figure there, too. I found this book on the "menopause"
shelf at the library. It was the only menopause book that called to me. The others were
so technical, medical. This one has poetry, story, ritual, depth. EXACTLY what I need.
I'm going to buy myself, my dear little ravaged self, my changing self, my aching self,
my sad suffering self… a little copy of this book.
--Sara Bryan
Dear Dr. Boice,
I am just finishing reading your book about Menopause,
which I checked out from my local library. I was so profoundly helped by it that I
felt I had to write to you. I am 52 and have been "menopausal", ie. in transition
for the last 2 years, and had been struggling. Your book gave me so much practical
and spiritual understanding....so much gained from hearing other women's experiences.
I now feel affirmed, with a much better understanding and appreciation for the process
I am going through and a much deeper acceptance of myself. Several books I read on the
subject covered possible physical symptoms and possible cures...and a few touched on
changing emotions and lifestyle...but over all they were generally depressing. I didn't
realize how hungry I was to hear about this in a positive, enlightening way and to hear
the experiences of other women. We are so isolated when it comes to women's personal,
yet universal passages through life in this culture. I loved that you included stories
from women of different cultures and spiritual paths! And I loved the way that the
stories were woven into the ways we can take care of ourselves, and the value we still
have. Somehow your book made me FEEL valuable...not just the buzz words that say we are
now "wise crones", and that that has value. Being a "crone" isn't at the top of the list
for me in terms of how I want to see myself!
So again, Thank you! Sincerely,
--Ami
Hello Dr. Boice,
I read your book Menopause with Science and Soul and was very impressed
with the detail and information. I have been searching for a solution for my sore heels for years
and your book mentions it could be a symptom of menopause. This is the only place I've read that
and I would love to hear more about why this is a symptom and what can I do about it. I have tried
many treatments (ultrasound, creams, orthotics, socks to stretch the calves, roll bottom shoes,
- all with no positive effects. Can you give me any advice or help with this. Thanks so much
in advance
--Sandra
