Understanding the changes in your body, mind, spirit

Adapted for Australia & New Zealand by Dr Lily Stojanovska, Assoc Professor; Marcia L. Jones, PhD; Teresa Eichenwald, MD

Published by Wiley Publishers

Menopause for Dummies is a very welcome addition to the stable of "For Dummies": popular books for beginners.

In picking up the familiar yellow and black jacket book typical of the "For Dummies" series, the reader is immediately struck by the front cover photo of an attractive older woman reflecting beauty, warmth, and a sense of wisdom and serenity. It also signals the intended primary readership demographic for this book, the menopausal woman.

The authors deserve to be commended for undertaking the challenge of dealing with the complex subject of menopause in the "For Dummies" format.  The end result is a book that can be read either cover to cover, or by selective chapters of interest within which are cross-references to thematically related material in other chapters.

Beverley Lawton General Practitioner, researcher and a Past President of the Australasian Menopause Society is to be congratulated and thanked for her hard work and clarity in writing this concise and helpful book on menopause. Whilst its finer details are tailored specifically for New Zealanders, the topics she covers in the care of the menopausal woman have global interest, and her careful and timely summary of research data also pertain to world wide findings.

Whilst a woman with a secondary school education would be able to follow Lawton’s writing reasonably easily, health professionals, working both within and outside the realm of menopausal health, and women wanting more academic answers to questions would also be grateful for this book.

Concise and designed for anyone to read

This book, based on the British Menopause Society Handbook for health professionals, is designed for the lay reader. It provides a concise (99 pages) yet adequate overview of menopause and its management, and it is generally consistent with Australian clinical practice. It covers basic physiology, symptoms, long term effects, hormone therapy and other management issues. The text, although varying at times in its degree of complexity, was accompanied by generally easy to understand diagrams and useful summary boxes. 

Each chapter lists sources of further information, including relevant journal articles (many of which are 2006 publications), book titles and web-sites.

"A Handbook For the Prevention and Management of Osteoporosis, 3rd Edition"                        

This is an excellent text for both women and men with osteoporosis and concerns about low bone density and for medical practitioners treating people with osteoporosis. It covers very important areas such as optimising diet, suitable levels of physical activity and fall prevention. The exercises are particularly useful and are suitable for all ages. Rehabilitation after fractures and pain management is  covered.    An explanation of treatment options is  included and the drug treatment section is up-to-date as at 2002. However, the evaluation of side-effects of drug treatment is not entirely comprehensive and because of advances in knowledge since this book was published, therefore it would be prudent to review other sources.