The Menopause Transition in a Relationship Context : Voices and Choices at Midlife, 1991-2012

Drawing on a small-scale longitudinal study of mid-life women tracking their menstrual cycles within the context of their lives as a whole over a twenty year period, this insightful book documents general health, family, and life situation changes and continuities for the participants. At once a research report, a memoir, and commentary, this book uses rich interview data to explore the complexity of living beings consistently over time. Told through the women’s own voices, it shows diversity and commonality of experience and develops a new method of assessing interlocking variables, the Multiple Continuum Assessment, which represents the complexity of life as fluid, systemic, and opportunistic. This book makes the case that menopause is more than a collection of signs and symptoms. Women and their families experience continual change as a matter of fact. Overwhelmingly, they transact transitions with interest, survive challenges, develop new skills and resources, and come out on the other side. It concludes with recommendations for women, healthcare professionals and researchers. This innovative work is suitable for practitioners and academics with an interest in women’s health, women’s and gender studies, aging and health care, menopause transition and family systems research, as well as women themselves.