...And here it is!! 'Menopause Madness; I Survived - You Can Too! The Outrageous Memoir of a Menopausal Woman'

 

And here it is...'Menopause Madness; I Survived - You Can Too! The Outrageous Memoir of a Menopausal Woman.' 

'What's this?' you may ask me. 'You've finally got your memoir written?'

The answer is yes and after four months of getting my raw manuscript into a polished manuscript, acceptable to publishing houses, I spent an additional seven months sending the highly polished version (Edit 4) to various publishing houses in the hope of securing a publisher.

Hell no!! Not to be for me, I'm afraid. 

Every morning I would wake up and check my inbox for emails from publishers on the other side of the world; the UK and USA and Canada. Most mornings there was not a lot. But some mornings I was pleasantly surprised for 30 seconds and then ever-so-gently let down in 10 seconds, and all in the very same email - incredible! 

Several publishers said 'Great manuscript and great topic.' One NZ publisher (who shall remain nameless), told me the topic was not suitable for audiences of today. I nearly felt like replying to her email, saying that at her ripe old age of 70 something, surely she too, must have gone through menopause at least 20 years ago! But I held my tongue and politely responded with 'Thank you for your valued feedback.' Other publishers, said they were inundated with self-help books on the same topic of Menopause and wondered if perhaps I could resubmit it in 2023. Polite answer; thanks, but no thanks.

I was also 'lucky' enough to be approached by a vanity publisher in London who asked for money upfront. But I emailed them back, thanking them for the 'opportunity' (to lose money) and declining their invitation. And it was then that I decided to go down the 'self-publishing' route. However, I'll save more on this for another blog post. 

Menopause Madness - the memoir... is truthful, honest, painful, funny, and outrageous (because if you know me well - you'll know all about my sense of humour and my ability to let the 'F-bomb' explode!). It has 'vignettes' instead of chapters, as vignettes are a slice of my life and my take on what has happened over my menopausal years. Chapters per se just felt too much like a novel and in my case, the last eight years reflected a horror story. Not a great read. The memoir also has a few tips and tricks about coping mechanisms, too.

I wrote the memoir over four years and then having completed it, I have only just recently gone back and added one whole vignette devoted to my husband Paul's thoughts about my menopause, and his experiences with it. 'Why' you may ask. My perspective is numero uno but I am not living my life, alone. There is one husband Paul, my own son, and my four step-children in our blended family of seven and it has taken an immense toll on Paul and me. Menopause has also reared its ugly face upon our children and they too, have witnessed the 'wrath of a woman scorned' by menopause. So understanding this made me realise that yes indeed, having Paul's perspective in my memoir was vital to the journey.

I'm looking forward to getting it published and have a deadline of May 29th, this year (2023). This is the date that my dear Dad passed away in 2018, and I wanted to launch my memoir on this particular date and in his honour. I'm sure he'd be proud of me for speaking up and being an ambassador for something no one wants to talk about! The BIG life-changing, mind-blowing M! Menopause...

And on that note, I shall sign off. Do not despair though, more topics on 'Menopause' to discuss with you all in the upcoming blogs. Don't forget to follow me and please leave your comments, questions, and thoughts below. 

Much AROHA to you all. 

Veena