Steamy

Hot (flash) takes, symptom by symptom, of The Change: Steamy is a raucous menopause memoir.

Half the population will face the horrors of menopause at some point, but even the medical profession can’t figure out what to do about it. Insomnia (#9), irritability (#24), increases in weight (#34): facing all that, we may have to conclude that laughter might be the best medicine for menopause.

Steamy explores the cascading list of symptoms people can face when going through The Change (including 2. Hot Flashes, 21. Anxiety, and 45. Fewer Shits). In this comic memoir, Holbrook opens up an experience still constrained by cultural silences and myths. Steamy is honest, vulnerable, gross, and might just be the funniest book you’ve ever read about menopause, or anything else (see 37. Bloating).

With bonus tear-out fan!

AUTHOR

Susan Holbrook

Edited by Susan Holbrook and Dawn Marie Kresan. Holbrook teaches North American Literatures and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor, and is the current poetry editor for The Windsor Review. Her poetry books include the Trillium-nominated Joy Is So Exhausting (2009), the chapbook Good Egg Bad Seed (2004), and misled (1999), which was shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Memorial Award and the Stephan G. Stephansson Award. Kresan lives in Kingsville, where she works as a freelance graphic designer and the publisher of Palimpsest Press. Her poetry books include Muse (2013) and a limited edition chapbook Framed (2009).

Reviews

“ltpgtA refreshing irreverent noeffslefttogive exploration and meditation on what it means to grow older and go through menopause This memopause is a sparkling pause a bawdy revelatory profane and genius celebration of the body and bodies I loved this bookltbgt Suzette Mayr author ofltigtThe Sleeping Car PorterltigtltbgtltpgtltpgtPraise for the authorltpgtltpgtA profoundly griproarious collection showcasing the wordsmiths wry wit and wondrous willingness to turn notions of poetry and poetics ipsonutzo topsoturvy in her seekandenjoy methodologyltbgtltigtThe Globe and Mailltigtltbgtltpgt”