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Going Menopostal
What You (and Your Doctor) Need to Know About the Real Science of Menopause and Perimenopause
By Amy Alkon
Published by BenBella Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
Half of the population—the female half—is getting healthcare based on medical myth rather than evidence. Going Menopostal is Amy Alkon’s mission to change that.
This book started with a flash—Alkon’s first hot flash. Drenching night sweats, insomnia, and brain fog soon followed—along with shame at feeling bewilderingly enraged at everyone and everything. Alkon, an award-winning science columnist and author, wanted to turn to her doctor. But there was a problem: More than half of the medical care we get in the US may not be “based on, or supported by, adequate evidence,” according to the US National Academy of Medicine.
Knowing this, Alkon began a deep dive into the research on menopause and perimenopause––the 3 to 10 years leading up to menopause when women’s symptoms are widely ignored, dismissed, and misdiagnosed (despite doctors having every intention of helping their patients). She was shocked by what she found:
This meticulously researched book is written in clear, everyday language that you don’t need the slightest science background to understand (along with Alkon’s signature dark humor). Alkon equips you with the exact words to confidently ask critical questions and motivate your doctor to partner with you and treat you appropriately––instead of giving you the “treatment” her favorite bus driver got: told by her doctor to “just wait out” her raging insomnia, night sweats, and hot flashes. Alkon’s ultimate goal: Empowering all women with the science and strategies they need to get the evidence-based care they expect and deserve.
This book started with a flash—Alkon’s first hot flash. Drenching night sweats, insomnia, and brain fog soon followed—along with shame at feeling bewilderingly enraged at everyone and everything. Alkon, an award-winning science columnist and author, wanted to turn to her doctor. But there was a problem: More than half of the medical care we get in the US may not be “based on, or supported by, adequate evidence,” according to the US National Academy of Medicine.
Knowing this, Alkon began a deep dive into the research on menopause and perimenopause––the 3 to 10 years leading up to menopause when women’s symptoms are widely ignored, dismissed, and misdiagnosed (despite doctors having every intention of helping their patients). She was shocked by what she found:
- Most gynecology departments lack even one doctor with training and expertise in menopausal and perimenopausal medicine, and they expect their maternity and general reproductive health specialists to treat these conditions outside their scope of practice without informing patients––a violation of medical ethics.
- Perimenopause is wrongly viewed and treated as “menopause lite”––a time of lowered estrogen levels––when estrogen levels actually soar, making many women miserably symptomatic.
- Few doctors know that symptomatic perimenopausal women actually tend to lack progesterone, and that replacing it with safe, FDA-approved progesterone would alleviate their insomnia, hot flashes, and other suffering and counteract cell overgrowth that can lead to breast and endometrial cancer.
- Many doctors deny estrogen to their menopausal patients, unaware of current research showing that estrogen not only alleviates symptoms but protects against cardiovascular disease (soon to kill 1 in 3 women), bone fractures, metabolic syndrome, and more.
- Findings from studies done largely on middle-class white women are wrongly applied to black women and other women of color, ignoring crucial differences, such as generally lower triglyceride levels in black women that can make heart disease harder to detect.
This meticulously researched book is written in clear, everyday language that you don’t need the slightest science background to understand (along with Alkon’s signature dark humor). Alkon equips you with the exact words to confidently ask critical questions and motivate your doctor to partner with you and treat you appropriately––instead of giving you the “treatment” her favorite bus driver got: told by her doctor to “just wait out” her raging insomnia, night sweats, and hot flashes. Alkon’s ultimate goal: Empowering all women with the science and strategies they need to get the evidence-based care they expect and deserve.
Product Details
- Publisher: BenBella Books (May 20, 2025)
- Length: 400 pages
- ISBN13: 9781637742464
Raves and Reviews
Praise for Amy Alkon's previous title, Unf*ckology:
“Advice on how to change behavior should be grounded in the science of behavior, but it rarely is. Don’t let the name fool you: Unf*ckology may speak with a potty mouth, but it cites journals and textbooks to bring a nuanced take on cognitive neuroscience and human evolution to the problems of everyday life.”
—Christopher Chabris, Assoc. Professor of Psychology, Union College; coauthor of Invisible Gorilla
"Alkon invented the science-help genre, and this book finds her at the height of her powers."
—Kaja Perina, Editor in Chief of Psychology Today
"Unf*ckology should be assigned to all students as the textbook for the new science—'growing a spine'—and taking personal responsibility for your life.”
—Michael Shermer, Presidential Fellow Chapman University, author of Heavens on Earth
"Very few of today's thinkers give us big ideas. By showing us how to use research on fields like embodiment to change our lives, Amy Alkon has given us two things: new big ideas; and balls-to-the wall hilarity. Let's put that in different words. Unf*ckology is one of the most delightful books you will read in this lifetime. And Amy Alkon has established herself with this book as THE top practitioner of applied science.”
—Howard Bloom, author of The Lucifer Principle and The Global Brain
“Amy Alkon is a virtuoso at making science accessible and fun. In this fast-paced, deeply authentic 'science-help' book, Alkon weaves her own dramatic transformation with the latest science to show you how to live the life you truly want to live. It’s time to stop pitying yourself, devaluing yourself, hiding yourself, and all the other things we do to ourselves to avoid being our full selves. You can be comfortable in your own skin RIGHT NOW. This book will show you how.”
—Scott Barry Kaufman, Professor of Positive Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, author of Ungifted
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Going Menopostal eBook 9781637742464
