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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Karen Arthur on how to turn a breakdown into a breakthrough and #MenopauseWhilstBlack

Karen Arthur on how to turn a breakdown into a breakthrough and #MenopauseWhilstBlack

My brilliant guest for the first episode of this season is a very special one. You may not have heard of Karen Arthur, but you sure as hell will have done by the time she’s finished with you. Because ...

20 Loka 202040min

Emma Freud on millennials, going grey and why she'll never lie about her age

Emma Freud on millennials, going grey and why she'll never lie about her age

Where to start with this week’s guest? Now 58, Emma Freud is a broadcaster, presenter, columnist and fund-raiser, for want of a better way of putting the incredible work she and her partner Richard Cu...

13 Loka 202049min

Kate Spicer on menopause stereotypes, being child-free and single at 50

Kate Spicer on menopause stereotypes, being child-free and single at 50

This week's guest is journalist and author, Kate Spicer. Kate went from “just another journalist” to national treasure and the country’s most famous dog-lover when her dog Wolfie went missing and she ...

6 Loka 202041min

Jo Whiley on regaining your confidence, finding your fashion mojo and... gardening

Jo Whiley on regaining your confidence, finding your fashion mojo and... gardening

Career crises are tough at the best of times, but imagine being in the midst of menopause - hot flushes, anxiety, brain fog, the lot - and finding your thirty year career is crashing down around your ...

29 Syys 202048min

Caroline de Maigret on being older but better and grown up style

Caroline de Maigret on being older but better and grown up style

This week’s guest this week is the epitome of grown up style - so much so that her effortless look has earnt her almost a million followers on Instagram. At 45, French model and producer Caroline de M...

22 Syys 202042min

Jojo Moyes on visibility, imposter syndrome and female friendship

Jojo Moyes on visibility, imposter syndrome and female friendship

How does it feel to suddenly become ultra-visible just as the world is trying to invisible you? That’s what happened to this week’s guest, mega-selling novelist Jojo Moyes, when the book her old publi...

15 Syys 202048min

Sara Collins on the power of women and turning a midlife crisis into success

Sara Collins on the power of women and turning a midlife crisis into success

My guest this week will give hope to anyone who’s looking at their work life and wondering WTF? The inspirational Sara Collins was a lawyer and mother of five (I know!) when she looked at her life and...

8 Syys 202050min

Marian Keyes on menopause, Botox and learning to be shameless

Marian Keyes on menopause, Botox and learning to be shameless

Ask any group of women to name a woman they love and I guarantee you someone will name this week’s guest, because Marian Keyes is beloved of women the world over. (She won’t believe that, but she is!)...

1 Syys 202045min

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