‘If you’re after an in-depth medical or psychological insight into the menopause, I’m afraid you’ve opened the wrong book – I’m not a doctor . . . However, I am a woman and I do know how it feels to be menopausal, so this book is written from experience and the heart and I hope it makes you laugh and feel better.’ JE
Older and Wider is Jenny Eclair’s hilarious, irreverent and refreshingly honest compendium of the menopause. From C for Carb-loading and G for Getting Your Shit Together to I for Invisibility and V for Vaginas, Jenny’s whistle-stop tour of the menopause in all its glory will make you realise that it really isn’t just you. Jenny will share the surprising lessons she has learnt along the way as well as her hard-won tips on the joy of cardigans, dealing with the empty nest (get a lodger) and keeping the lid on the pressure cooker of your temper (count to twenty, ten is never enough).
As Jenny says, ‘I can’t say that I’ve emerged like a beautiful butterfly from some hideous old menopausal chrysalis and it would be a lie to say that I’ve found the ‘old me’ again. But what I have found is the ‘new me’ – and you know what? I’m completely cool with that.’

At 46 I’m definitely in the peri menopausal camp (who even knew that was a thing until recently??) and so bought this book with interest of what is around the corner!

As you would expect with Jenny Eclair it is witty and laugh out loud funny at times – but also quite informative (in a non medical way).

Some of it is very relevant to me already – and some I can look forward to! Thank goodness periods are no longer an issue (honestly, my endometrial ablation was the best thing ever – and I’d highly recommend it if your child-bearing is over and you’re suffering with super heavy periods). But I can definitely agree with the leg dandruff problem!!

I think it’s great that people talk about the menopause more openly now – it’s something that 50% of the population will be personally affected by (and a large proportion of their partners will also be affected too!), so we shouldn’t be squeamish about it! This is a great ice breaker book – and makes you feel that you’re not alone if you haven’t got friends to share the gory details with.

An easy, fun, interesting read.