Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause

This is a new place. 52, divorced, one adult child, one preteen about to start middle school, parents gone, and reimagining what my work identity will be after 25 years of social justice work. It feels so foreign, exciting and scary. When did I arrive on the dark side of the moon? Am I alone here?

There is so much ritual around your first period as a girl. Within in your family circle, culture and circle of friends, it seems like everyone is waiting the arrival of this marker-- the portal to womanhood. There are books like “Are you there God it’s me Margaret” and “Our Bodies, Ourselves. There is the painful 6th grade sex education class, training bras and the highly inaccurate information around what it is and what it will feel and look like from our peer group. There are no such things for women as they enter the white water of perimenopause to show you how to journey through to the end, to the other side of your cycle into cronehood. No dialogue about sex drive, weight gain, gray chin hairs (or any place else) ageing parents or parenting adult children, death, life, joy, life or learning. No reassurances that you are not crazy and there should be.
This episode shares my personal journey and exploration around aging, menopause, the manifestation of Decolonizing the Crone and what people can expect in future episodes of The Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause. Our guest host is Angel Dozier of Be Connected Durham.