The authors consider menopause within the totality of women's health and as a natural process, not a medical problem. They detail typical menopausal symptoms, mainstream and alternative treatments, and risk factors for such conditions as osteoporosis, heart disease, cancer and diabetes as women age. They explain the biology of menopause; provide up-to-date perspectives on hormone replacement therapy (HRT); discuss sudden and early menopause due to surgery, medical treatments or genetic risk factors; and offer personal reflections by individual women. The sections on how to evaluate research findings; make wise health-care decisions; understand the social, cultural, economic and political frameworks in which women's health care is viewed and formulated; and nurture the self?mind, body and spirit?during years of change on all levels will prove most useful. As a general reference on menopause, this volume will be embraced by a wide female audience.