By Womaness Editors 2-Minute Read
Around here, we love a juicy menopause book—and this newest crop tackles it all, from gut health and hormones to strength, nutrition, identity, and what it really means to feel good in the years ahead. In honor of October’s Menopause Awareness Month, these are the latest titles currently topping our staff’s gotta-read pile.
1. The Menopause Gut by Cynthia Thurlow, NP
What does your microbiome have to do with menopause? Quite a lot, according to nurse practitioner Cynthia Thurlow. She explores the relationship between shifting hormones and gut health—and how those changes may affect inflammation, metabolism, mood, cognition, bone health, and more. Even better, she offers practical strategies around food, exercise, stress, sleep, and hormone therapy to help you take action.
2. Nourishing Menopause by Andrea Donsky
Nutritionist, menopause researcher, and Menopause Reimagined podcast host Andrea Donsky (yes, the one you've spotted on TikTok!) turns 25 years of wellness expertise into an approachable guide to eating and living well through perimenopause, menopause, and beyond. Research-backed nutrition and lifestyle strategies meet recipes, meal plans, and plenty of real-life perspective. In other words: less What am I supposed to eat now?, more I can actually do this.
3. The Hormone Loop by Dr. Gillian Goddard
Your hormones didn't suddenly show up at perimenopause—and endocrinologist Dr. Gillian Goddard wants you to understand how the whole system works. She connects the dots across a woman’s hormonal life, from puberty and periods to fertility, pregnancy, perimenopause, and beyond. The result is an expert-led guide for understanding not just what your hormones are doing, but why.
4. What No One Told Us: The Black Woman's Guide to Menopause by Dr. Michelle Cooke
Board-certified family medicine physician and certified menopause practitioner Dr. Michelle Cooke puts Black women at the center of a health conversation that has too often overlooked them. Compassionate and science-grounded, the book examines symptoms, treatment, and why the menopause experience—and the care women receive—can differ. Most importantly, it gives readers tools to better understand their bodies and advocate for their health. An important read.
Menopause Survival Starter Kit
5. The Book of Menopause by the Editors of Oprah Daily
Leave it to Oprah to bring together some of the biggest voices in the menopause space. Arriving October 13, this new guide from Oprah Daily draws on experts including Dr. Kelly Casperson, Tamsen Fadal, Dr. Mary Claire Haver, and Dr. Sharon Malone to cover symptoms, treatment options, doctor visits, intimacy, purpose, and more. Science-backed, stigma-busting, and refreshingly human.
6. Training for Your Old Lady Body by Elizabeth Davies
Personal trainer Elizabeth Davies has a much better reason to exercise than fitting into your jeans: staying strong enough to fully live your life (here, here!). Her straight-talking, no-BS guide reframes strength training around what really matters as we age—muscle, bone density, balance, heart health, mobility, and independence. Because carrying your own groceries at 80 sounds like a pretty great fitness goal to us.
7. Threads of Me and You by Laura Nespoli
Yes, you can love the life you’ve built by this age and still wonder, “Is this still the life I want?” Author and storyteller Laura Nespoli knows that tension firsthand. Part memoir, part personal growth guide, Threads of Me and You explores the expectations, “shoulds,” and safe choices that can shape your life—and how to make room for growth in your next chapter without walking away from everything you value.
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