Ripe: The Truth About Growing Older And The Beauty Of Getting On With Your Life by Janet Champ and Charlotte Moore, is not a typical book about menopause. There are no chapters on what to do about hot flashes, nor advice about losing weight. It’s more about how we handle the changes that life, age and time do to us. It’s truthful, thought-provoking and clever, which is why you won’t want to keep it tucked away with your other books.
The authors lead us on a journey of self-exploration using photographs, illustrations, quotes from women (of a certain age), lists, letters, postcards, even a mock-screenplay (“Me- The Movie”) – all meant to raise awareness, poke fun and question our and others’ attitudes about this chapter in our lives called menopause (an unfortunate name in my opinion).
My favorite chapter is “Love & Menopause – a Letter,” in which the authors write to their significant others because they’re along for the ride too, though it may be bumpy:
“Just think of me as a fun house mirror. I used to reflect you in a way that you liked. Now, well, maybe that reflection is a little funny looking. But it’s still you. It’s just that maybe you’ll see yourself differently through me for a while.”
In the final chapter, “Women, Express Thyself,” the authors leave pages blank for us, the readers, to record our own views about Menopause. The copy I borrowed from the library had this note from a previous borrower:
“It is possibility. It is a life for myself. It is the next part of life. (Your turn)”
Okay – my turn. “It’s uncomfortable, sometimes a drag, but it’s not a big deal. It’s a sub-plot, not the main story-line of my life. As my grandmother liked to say, I have bigger fishes to fry.”
Your turn.
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We very much appreciate your comments about our book, RIPE. As we both wade into the very territory we described, we embrace the advice and stories and encouragement of other women, such as the one you cite who left her note in the back of the book and to you who point us all in the direction of the bigger fish. Again, thank you! And compliments for your lovely website. Charlotte Moore and Janet Champ
Thanks for your comment. I was happy to spread the word about your book. It offers a unique and refreshing look at this chapter in our lives and I don’t believe there’s anything else like it in bookstores.
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