I picked this up after finishing The Menopause Manifesto by Jen Gunter, partly because some reviews commented on the superiority of this book over hers. I beg to differ. I am sensitive to the fact that inclusiveness is a very legitimate concern, not least for African American women and non-binary and/or trans men and women. I'm not trying to minimize the importance of addressing the specific needs of populations that have been historically marginalized and victimized by western medicine. I get all of that. I'll just say that Heather Corinna's approach to that inclusiveness felt performative much of the time. Not trying to sound like a boomer, but I was bemused by the gamut of pronouns and all-lowercase names.

Aaaaanyway. As far as the menopause and perimenopause information goes, this book takes a very caring approach, with a heavy and welcome focus on self-care. I do not personally subscribe to the versions of medicine being advocated in parts of the book, including the use of traditional Chinese medicine and some sections of the mini-herbal. But I write from a place of privilege since I am white and middle-class, and I've mostly been spared by chronic conditions in my life so far. My biggest takeaway is "Ya Basics" (sleep, hydration, exercise, lower stress, and no smoking), but that could have fit into far fewer pages, as far as I'm concerned.