The pressure on women to remain forever young can make menopause a time you approach with dread. The thought of battling with hot flushes, uncontrollable weight gain, brittle bones, mood swings and memory loss can plunge you into depression. Is menopause really the end of life as you know it?

Nicole Jaff understands the pressures and the confusion experienced by women in menopause or approaching menopause and acts as their guide through the maze of conflicting theories, the advertisements of companies offering cure-alls and the array of medical options offered by doctors. In her trademark style – thoroughly researched, clearly written and with an essential touch of humour – Nicole explains the theories, the claims and the myths surrounding menopause. She uses numerous case studies of the women who have come to her for counselling to illustrate women’s concerns to support her central theme – each woman is different and so the treatment of menopausal symptoms needs to be customised for her, a one-size-fits-all approach is of no benefit to women.

Nicole addresses all the issues that midlife women raise in her workshops and in private consultations:

• Why do I get hot flushes and will they ever end?
• My doctor has recommended a total hysterectomy – what does this mean?
• Is it safe to take hormone therapy, or does it cause cancer?
• Does menopause mean my sex life is over?
• Aren’t natural hormones better than hormone therapy?
• Will I never be thin again?
• I’m so depressed, will hormone therapy cure me?
• If I stop hormone therapy will my bones become brittle?

Nicole’s mission is the empowerment of mid-life women and she hopes they will achieve this through reading Menopause: Everything you need to know – the power to ask the right questions, to insist on being properly informed on their health options and the power to take an active part in their own health management.