Dana Spiotta on putting paid to menopause shame

Dana Spiotta on putting paid to menopause shame

When was the last time you read a book where the central character was not just perimenopausal but also talked and thought about menopause and its impact on her life. And she wasn’t a laughing stock? I’m prepared to bet never. That was the driving force for my guest this week, novelist Dana Spiotta. What if, she asked herself, the lead characters of some of her favourite books had had a hot flush? Think Mrs Dalloway on HRT. The resulting novel, Wayward, is the story of 53 year old Sam who, in the midst of the chaos and perverse clarity of perimenopause falls in love with a rundown house, buys it and leaves her husband, teenage daughter and the suburban security of married life in pursuit of a new her. Wayward is a blast of fresh air; funny, furious and extremely close to home! Dana joined me from her home in Syracuse, upstate New York, to talk about accidentally writing a “menopause novel”, how her own perimenopause informed her characters (cue, rage, insomnia and midlife misogyny), what happens when menopause and puberty collide and why people are still grossed out by the truth about female bodies. • You can buy all the books mentioned in this podcast at Bookshop.org, including Wayward by Dana Spiotta and the book that inspired this podcast, The Shift: how I lost and found myself after 40 - and you can too, by me! • The Shift (on life after 40) with Sam Baker is created and hosted by Sam Baker and edited by Emily Sandford. If you enjoyed this podcast, please rate/review/follow as it really does help other people find us. And let me know what you think on twitter @sambaker or instagram @theothersambaker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Helen Garner on divorce, grandmothering and the erotic gaze - FROM THE ARCHIVES

Helen Garner on divorce, grandmothering and the erotic gaze - FROM THE ARCHIVES

To celebrate the old bird/broad role models who’ve appeared on The Shift with Sam Baker I’ll be rerunning some of these conversations throughout December and into January. Next up is Australian litera...

23 Joulu 202549min

Miriam Margolyes on the power of living life without secrets - FROM THE ARCHIVES

Miriam Margolyes on the power of living life without secrets - FROM THE ARCHIVES

• To celebrate the old bird/broad role models who’ve appeared on The Shift with Sam Baker, I’ll be rerunning some of these conversations throughout December and into January. First up Miriam Margolye...

16 Joulu 202550min

Lady Glenconner on stepping into the spotlight at 87

Lady Glenconner on stepping into the spotlight at 87

My guest on the final episode of this season is Anne, Lady Glenconner.  Now 93, Lady Glenconner has lived to put it bluntly, one hell of a life. She was born in 1932, the eldest daughter of the ...

9 Joulu 202556min

Karen Dobres: how menopause & football turned me into an accidental radical

Karen Dobres: how menopause & football turned me into an accidental radical

My guest today is the accidental radical Karen Dobres. Until her early fifties, Karen’s life had taken a path familiar to so many women. From modelling in her early twenties, she trained as a counsell...

2 Joulu 20251h 1min

Samantha Ellis on food, family and finding your identity in your 40s

Samantha Ellis on food, family and finding your identity in your 40s

My guest today is a woman on a mission to preserve the language of her grandparents. Playwright, screenwriter and novelist Samantha Ellis is the author of one of my personal favourites How To Be A Her...

25 Marras 20251h

Holly Dawson on facing permanent memory loss at 40

Holly Dawson on facing permanent memory loss at 40

For many of us losing our memory is our worst nightmare. To be told that that is happening when you are still young (ish) is close to unimaginable. That’s what happened to this week’s guest, writer, t...

18 Marras 20251h 2min

Bobbi Brown on doing it all her own way in her 60s

Bobbi Brown on doing it all her own way in her 60s

If you, like me, have lived most of your life in fear of foundation, this week’s guest is your saviour. Because this woman saved us no-makeup makeup girls’ lives.  Back in 1991, Bobbi Brown was a m...

11 Marras 202551min

Hollie McNish on sex, shame and telling the truth about womanhood

Hollie McNish on sex, shame and telling the truth about womanhood

Today’s episode is basically a massive treat for me. Hollie McNish is my favourite poet. I first encountered her over a decade ago when I was doing an event for my thriller, The Woman Who Ran, at a li...

4 Marras 20251h 9min

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