Cracking the Menopause

While Keeping Yourself Together

Mariella Frostrup author Alice Smellie author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Pan Macmillan

Published:12th May '22

£10.99

Available for immediate dispatch.

Cracking the Menopause cover

A groundbreaking, no-holds-barred guide to the menopause - that combines a passion to enlighten and inform as well as entertain - from inimitable broadcaster, writer and campaigner Mariella Frostrup and award-winning health journalist Alice Smellie.

A groundbreaking, no-holds-barred guide to the menopause – that combines a passion to enlighten and inform as well as entertain – from inimitable broadcaster, writer and campaigner Mariella Frostrup and award-winning health journalist Alice Smellie.

'Essential reading for everyone' – Marian Keyes

Featuring case studies from women in every walk of life and all stages of their menopause journey, Cracking the Menopause opens up the conversation about an urgent topic that half the population will experience, but barely anyone is talking about.


It’s high time we renovated and elevated this life change. Despite the centuries of speculation and propaganda, we are not overheating or inherently cold, we are not hysterics or boiling vats of toxic poisons, we are not dried up or washed up, we are simply menopausal.

It’s time for us to start talking about the menopause. Cracking the Menopause, from straight-talking broadcaster Mariella Frostrup and health journalist Alice Smellie, has all the information you need, delivered with characteristic wry humour. Mariella shares her own journey through the menopause, along with the latest science, advice from leading experts and humorous illustrations – to provide an informative source of wisdom and enlightenment.

Designed to equip you with the knowledge to manage your symptoms from perimenopause onwards, this essential book separates the myths from the reality and offers expertise, hope and advice.

'I inhaled this book, it's fantastic. Women of all ages need to read it' – Claudia Winkleman

'Mariella and Alice have just written one of the most important books of the year, bravo' - Gabby Logan

A fresh, insightful take and a great read. -- Helen Fielding, author of Bridget Jones's Diary
Essential reading for everyone. -- Marian Keyes, author of Again, Rachel
I inhaled this book, it's fantastic. Women of all ages need to read it. It’s genuinely helped me understand why I wake up at 5 a.m. and made me laugh along the way. -- Claudia Winkleman
Cracking the Menopause should be mandatory for every medical student and pretty much anyone else who cares about the quality of a woman’s life over the age of forty. Mariella and Alice have just written one of the most important books of the year, bravo. -- Gabby Logan
Menopause is the dark matter of modern medicine, until now almost totally neglected. This book shrugs off generations of silence and stigma. It’s confessional, scientifically accurate and extremely funny. It’s for anyone who will experience the menopause themselves or who knows someone who will . . . so that’s basically everyone. -- Dr Chris van Tulleken, broadcaster and author of Ultra-Processed People
Optimistic, hilarious and informative. A rallying cry for women to love and look after themselves at any age. -- Susannah Constantine, broadcast and fashion columnist
This book is nothing short of revolutionary! Finally, some validation for women who’ve been swirling around aimlessly seeking answers in tomes of patriarchal gibberish. This book arrives at exactly the right time; a guidebook for that stage in life, previously only surviving in shadows and whispers. MENOPAUSE, at long last: a badge of honor. -- Naomi Watts, actor
This friendly, feisty book has all the myth-busting facts, tactics and strategies we need to sail through menopause and not just survive, but thrive. -- Alice Hart-Davis, founder of The Tweakments Guide
Brilliantly well-informed, hugely helpful and, above all, empathetic to women’s needs: I wish I’d had this to read when my own perimenopause kicked in. -- Saska Graville, MPowered Women
A must-read for women of any age. It does not just crack the menopause, it makes it cool. I, for one, cannot wait to become a grumpy and free menopausal woman after reading this book. -- Miriam Gonzalez Durantes, lawyer and founder of Inspiring Girls
It’s astounding and shocking that a process over half the world’s population will go through is still so poorly understood. This book goes a long way towards clearing up the myths and misconceptions that still surround the menopause. -- Lydia Slater, Editor-in-Chief, Harper's Bazaar
It’s fascinating, and a little scary that men are so ignorant about something that will probably significantly affect someone they’ve lived with for two decades! -- Mark Pougatch, sports broadcaster

ISBN: 9781529059052

Dimensions: 196mm x 129mm x 23mm

Weight: 245g

352 pages