HQ scoops Davina McCall's 'taboo-busting' book on menopause

HQ has scooped a "taboo-busting" book on the menopause by TV presenter Davina McCall. 

Executive publisher Lisa Milton acquired world rights for Menopausing from Amanda Harris at YMU Books. The book will be published in hardback, audio and e-book in May 2022.

It has been created in collaboration with GP and menopause expert Dr Louise Newson, who co-presented a Channel 4 documentary on the menopause with McCall in May this year. Menopausing will be a full-colour illustrated guide to the menopause, using real stories and experiences. HQ said the book "will explore and explain the science, debunk damaging myths, and smash the taboos around the perimenopause and menopause to bring this vital conversation firmly into the mainstream".

McCall said Menopausing is "more than just a book, it’s a movement" and that it is her life's goal "to end the shame and unacceptable misinformation surrounding menopause". She said: "It seems crazy that every night us women have to take to social media to ask each other questions and share information … because there is nowhere for us to turn. I want us to keep talking, and to create a home for our menopausing community so no woman feels alone in her experience... no one should ever have to suffer in silence ever." 

Milton said: "Since the launch of HQ, we’ve been looking for the right menopause book for a general audience. Davina’s Menopausing is the perfect book to bring menopause into the mainstream. For far too long, there’s been too little information, now we want to bust the myths, remove the taboo and create the book that every woman wants, and every man should read."

Harris commented: "Davina is the perfect person to write this seminal menopause book. She creates community with such ease, and she is driven to disseminate science-based and experiential facts in the most inclusive way. This book will improve the lives of all women, for those with peri and menopausal symptoms but also for generations of women to come."