Black and Menopausal: Intimate Stories of Navigating the Change

by Yansie Rolston (Editor), Yvonne Christie (Editor), Iya Rev. DeShannon Barnes-Bowens, M.S. (Foreword by)

Overview

"This is our voice, these are our truths, and our stories deserve to be told."

This deeply empowering and personal collection of stories brings together a wide range of Black experiences on the menopause journey. Drawing on the historical and cultural importance of storytelling traditions in African and Caribbean ancestry, this anthology breaks through a taboo topic that has too often been mired in shame and silence with courage and vulnerability.

Contributions span across various heritages, sexual orientations, ages, and gender identities, curating an intimate treasury of journeys full of honesty, pain, healing, and liberation. Topics on emotional, mental, and sexual health as well as complementary therapies are all discussed with empathy and sincerity, allowing readers to broaden their depth of understanding on the experiences of Black people impacted by the menopause.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781839973796
Publisher:	Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Publication date:	06/21/2023
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	672,529
Product dimensions:	5.35(w) x 8.43(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

Yansie Rolston, PhD, FRSA, is Associate Director - Health & Wellbeing at The Ubele Initiative, and Director of Efficacy EVA. Yansie is passionate about the menopause and was driven to co-found YouandMe Menopause after her own challenges in getting culturally appropriate support.

Yvonne Christie is Project Director at Efficacy EVA and Co-Founder of YouandMe Menopause. She has an MA in Applied Psychology of mental health services, a diploma in counselling and a diploma in community and youth work. She has worked with communities (particularly women) on a range of issues including domestic abuse, psychological issues, parenting issues and has delivered training around race and inequality.

Table of Contents

Contents
Dedication
Foreword
Introduction
1.Eldership - Onika Henry
2.I was only 12 - Shaneka Lambert
3.Breast Comfort , The Things We Might Miss - Nicole Joseph-Chin
4.My Black Panty - Palmela Witter
5.I Will Take Up Time - Dr Yansie Rolston
6.Understanding My Limitations - Yvonne Witter
7.Black, Trans and Menopausal - Austen Smith
8.Manifesting Wellness - Jacqueline Hinds
9.Mama K Ghana's Experience - Mbeke Waseme
10.Is HRT Necessary - Asma-Esmeralda Abdallah-Portales
11.The Return of the Pack - Pamela Windle
12.The Invisible Cracks - Myrle Roach
13.The Gynecologist - Living My Best Life - Dr Leslie Bishop
14.My Fluctuating Libido Tashini Jones
15.More To This Thank Sweating - Yvonne Christie

Editorial Reviews

Black and Menopausal is ground breaking, comprehensive, and insightful. The storytelling by this incredible sister-community of griots serves as a modern-day rite of passage for black women and girls worldwide that breaks through the secrecy and shame commonly associated with menopause. It provides a rich pathway for black women of all ages to define womanhood no longer framed by patriarchal views that values women on the basis of their sexual prowess and reproductive capacity. Black and Menopausal is a bold celebration of black women's bodies and lives. I wish this incredible resource existed when I transitioned into my season of menopause to guide me in creating holistic narratives about my maturing body when my mother with dementia could no longer share her stories and experiences.

Rev. Dr. Cari Jackson

This book is not just another menopause book. It is gentle, yet it is vociferous, and one that has been needed in the perimenopause, menopause space that is continuously silent in conveying other 'voices'. The impact is that when you read and see stories from people who look like you, you feel more of a connection and know that you are not alone. You know that they have an understanding of your background and/ or struggles. Without a doubt being able to read these stories is powerful when the one telling the story looks similar to you. It also provides a range of accounts from an array of Black people, something for everyone. The book's tone and format are effortlessly digestible and have a story/ narrative for many Black people to resonate with, as well as for those that it indirectly affects to learn. In addition, I strongly recommend those in the medical profession and beyond read this book with compassion, but also I would hope it further stresses why the menopause canvas is harming so many when it remains one colour. My experience as a Black woman cannot be validated based on a white woman's lived experience. Our needs are different. This book provides a foundation for the past, present and future Black and Menopausal generations.

Nina Kuypers

These are are deeply personal experiences of vulnerability, courage, embarrassment, empowerment, pain, suffering, healing, and liberation. This is the first time an anthology of this kind has been published. The collective voices of the authors are in alignment with a shift occurring throughout the African Diaspora. Despite marginalization and invisibility, Black women and trans people all over the world are standing in their authenticity and taking charge of telling their own narratives. As a psychotherapist who has specialized in working with clients around sexuality experiences and trauma, I have directly witnessed the positive transformative effect Black women and trans people experience when they have safe spaces and platforms to be seen, heard, and taken seriously.

Iya Rev. DeShannon Barnes-Bowens

As a double board-certified specialist in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery, the work of Rolston and Christie was eye opening, fresh, and fervently relevant to the women I have cared for over the course of my career. This is a must read for any practitioner in the female intimate wellness space as well as the women of color who are so often disregarded and seen as both trivial and strong. This is the connection we have been waiting for to shed light on a buried subject matter!!

Sarah M. St. Louis