Sheehy claims that her writing of this book was the breaking of silence on a taboo subject. Her aim is to provide information which will help woman better understand what they have been going through. She claims that traditionally women have been poorly informed on the subject. She claims reliance on friends, on mothers does not bring the kind of full knowledge of the subject required.
She provides many stories and examples, and gives a real sense of how varied this 'silent passage' is. A minority of women go through it seemingly without problems, but for some it is wholly unbearable. One question which is central to the book and really unanswered regards Hormone Replacement Theory , and its advisability. Recent studies have pointed to increased levels of cancer of those who have taken the hormones.
Sheehy repeats herself often, beats her own drum, but is a clear writer whose work no doubt has been of real service to many women who have suffered without understanding what exactly they were going through, and why this is not something to feel guilty or be stigmatized about. Sheehy's strong believe that knowledge and understanding can be of great help seems to me correct and fair.

Those of us approaching or in the midst of our passage into menopause owe a great debt to the pioneering women who lifted menopause out of the dark ages and brought it into the broad light of day. One of these early pioneers was Gail Sheehy. With the exception of her views on Hormone Replacement Therapy (as other reviewers have pointed out) this book offers a lively, energizing, well-researched overview of menopause. I read the original edition about ten years ago and have considered the deeper meaning of the title of this groundbreaking book. "Silent Passage" carries echoes of another revolutionary work, Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson. Silent Spring foresaw a day when pollution would destoy the reproductive cycle of birds, and they would no longer sing their songs. The Silent Passage echoes that notion. It not only implies that in menopause women suffer in silence but also that the clear, vibrant voice of women at midlife and older had been silenced. Now, thanks to pioneers like Gail Sheehy, we are demanding that our collective voices be heard!

--Suza Francina, author, Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause and The New Yoga for People Over 50.

Those of us approaching or in the midst of our passage into menopause owe a great debt to the pioneering women who lifted menopause out of the dark ages and brought it into the broad light of day. One of these early pioneers was Gail Sheehy. With the exception of her views on Hormone Replacement Therapy (as other reviewers have pointed out) this book offers a lively, energizing, well-researched overview of menopause. I read the original edition about ten years ago and have considered the deeper meaning of the title of this groundbreaking book. "Silent Passage" carries echoes of another revolutionary work, Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson. Silent Spring foresaw a day when pollution would destoy the reproductive cycle of birds, and they would no longer sing their songs. The Silent Passage echoes that notion. It not only implies that in menopause women suffer in silence but also that the clear, vibrant voice of women at midlife and older had been silenced. Now, thanks to pioneers like Gail Sheehy, we are demanding that our collective voices be heard!

--Suza Francina, author, Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause and The New Yoga for People Over 50.

I was looking for a bit of reasurrance and guidance for alternative treatments. I certainly didn't get it here! Ms. Sheehy has few suggestions for perimenopausal women other than HRT, which she describes as almost magical. Since I have a family history of breast cancer, and--consequently-- no desire to try HRT, I needed books with a more positive tone and other treatment options. I would strongly recommend Dr. Susan Love's Hormone book and The Pause by Lonnie Barbauch instead.

I was looking for a bit of reasurrance and guidance for alternative treatments. I certainly didn't get it here! Ms. Sheehy has few suggestions for perimenopausal women other than HRT, which she describes as almost magical. Since I have a family history of breast cancer, and--consequently-- no desire to try HRT, I needed books with a more positive tone and other treatment options. I would strongly recommend Dr. Susan Love's Hormone book and The Pause by Lonnie Barbauch instead.

This book is an excellent overview of menopause but needs further updating in light of the current controversy over Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). The author is still all aglow over HRT, and it is heralded within the pages of this book as if it were the end all, be all for menopausal women. While this was the general prevailing medical view, it seems that further research has put its value in question somewhat, and HRT is now at the heart of some heated medical controversy.

Still, if the reader is aware already of this budding medical controversy over HRT, the book does offer some insights into menopause in an informative and fairly concise fashion. This should prove to be especially helpful to the hordes of baby boomer women who are entering this phase of their lives. The book also provides information into holistic, alternative ways of addressing some of the issues attendant in menopausal women. It appears that nature may provide some palliatives that some women may find preferable to the drug-infused approach of some medical practitioners.

Overall, this is an excellent, well-researched book and one that a lay person can read with ease. It provides interesting insights into the emotional, psychological, and medical concerns of peri-menopausal and menopausal women and discusses some of the remedies that are available, if necessary, to ease women through this major life passage. The book has clearly been a labor of love for the author, and she has endeavored, with success, to remove the mystery that has enshrouded menopause for so long.

This book is an excellent overview of menopause but needs further updating in light of the current controversy over Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). The author is still all aglow over HRT, and it is heralded within the pages of this book as if it were the end all, be all for menopausal women. While this was the general prevailing medical view, it seems that further research has put its value in question somewhat, and HRT is now at the heart of some heated medical controversy.

Still, if the reader is aware already of this budding medical controversy over HRT, the book does offer some insights into menopause in an informative and fairly concise fashion. This should prove to be especially helpful to the hordes of baby boomer women who are entering this phase of their lives. The book also provides information into holistic, alternative ways of addressing some of the issues attendant in menopausal women. It appears that nature may provide some palliatives that some women may find preferable to the drug-infused approach of some medical practitioners.

Overall, this is an excellent, well-researched book and one that a lay person can read with ease. It provides interesting insights into the emotional, psychological, and medical concerns of peri-menopausal and menopausal women and discusses some of the remedies that are available, if necessary, to ease women through this major life passage. The book has clearly been a labor of love for the author, and she has endeavored, with success, to remove the mystery that has enshrouded menopause for so long.

but I feel better now, and I attribute my new outlook to having read The Silent Passage.

Chapters are short and easy to read. This book deals not only with the technical aspects that most books do, but primarily with particular women's experiences with those various aspects--especially their feelings. This is what is left out of most of the other books. I recommend this book together with a more techinical book. But if you can only buy one book, buy this one instead. The main thing this book left me with was a feeling that instead of menopause being something that will just happen to me, there are a lot of things I can do, in a proactive sense, to manage the menopause. This is the most positive book I have seen on the subject, and helps me decide about all the questions to discuss with my doctor. Without reading this book, instead of being ready with a list of questions for my doctor, I would have passively listened to whatever he said, and thought that was it.

I nodded; I smiled in sympatico; I grimaced in the knowledge that I too have experienced the same swings she describes. This book, like her others, tunes into the women's viewpoint. I have followed her career and her publications since Passages was first released and I believe her to be such a wonderful advocate for women's well-being both physical and psychological. What an asset we have. What seems to be this new realm of natural products and herbal supplements has become a great breakthrough for women's health. Just dosing yourself with a high powered birth control pill and "hoping for the best" is no longer the only option. It should go the way of male gynocologists. The Silent Passage should be a joyful one without fear of brittle bones or of cancer. A site that gives additional links and documentation to the use of herbals and natural supplements for all the areas of women's health is iHerb. They give women their due respect in offering products and good service and substantuating it all with documentation. This isn't just a store on line - it is a reader's resource as well.

As I read "The Silent Passage," I found myself nodding in agreement, or stopping in amazement. Sheehy presents solid information in a straight-forward manner, that neither patronizes nor editorializes. Her only advocacy is informed choice, and she stresses that options are always available. I urge all women to read this book. Even if you think you're past The Change, there is information and reassurance that is useful no matter what stage of life you're in. My younger sisters, and younger friends, are going to find copies of this book in their mailboxes as "just because" gifts. I won't wait for an occasion.

This is an excellent book for women who want to know what to expect from the menopausal years. It gives insight into both the emotional and physical changes that come with the cessation of estrogen production. I highly recommend it to all women entering this exciting stage of life.

Having read "Silent Passage" I now realize that I have been in the perimenopausal stage for about two years. I knew my body was behaving differently and when I did mention the possibility of menopause to my doctor he told me I wasn't there yet. No mention was made of the perimenopausal stage. For the next year I tried to ignore what was happening and I was miserable. The symptoms got worse and just recently I reached for Sheehy's book and started reading. The information in this book is incredible, and I thank her for writing it. Not only did I learn that I've been perimenopausal for two years but I now have learned how to view the changes going on and how to intelligently handle them. Having the knowledge gives me back the control I felt that I lost. I can't stop what's happening to my body but I can work to get through the changes with humor - thanks to Gail. Her book also has provided me with more information on HRT than I've gotten anywhere else. If any woman is trying to decide whether to go on HRT she needs to read this book and learn the pros and cons. You'll learn when it is time to consider HRT. As I write this I'm trying to get across to the reader my overall sense of peace that I feel after having read Sheehy's book. We women need to know about menopause, talk about it, write about, read about it and not be afraid of it. Sheehy helps us to do that. I recommend this book to any woman who wants to know a lot about the stages of menopause. I would recommend that husbands also read this book. Sheehy teaches you what is happening, why it is happening and how to handle it. Her book also helps you to accept what you cannot change, courage to handle the changes, and the knowledge to make decisions.