S&S to publish menopause manifesto by journalist Muir

Simon & Schuster has acquired Everything You Need to Know About the Menopause (But Were Too Afraid To Ask) by journalist Kate Muir.

UK and Commonwealth rights were acquired from Sheila Crowley at Curtis Brown for the book. It will see Muir draw on her background as a journalist and her experience as co-producer of the recent Channel 4 documentary, "Davina McCall: Sex, Myths and the Menopause", interview a number of leading experts and examine the latest science to provide women with the information about menopause. 

The synopsis reads: "Everything You Need to Know About the Menopause explains what happens in our bodies during this important period of a woman’s life and explores the most effective ways to treat its associated symptoms, be they physical or psychological. It will expose the myths that surround HRT, including the bad science and hysterical headlines that have had such a long-lasting impact on women’s health over the last twenty years. It is also a manifesto for change, calling for equality in healthcare and an entirely new approach to women’s ageing."

Muir commented: "My own menopausal experience was not just a car crash, but a full-on 'Thelma and Louise' moment, and I didn’t want that to happen to anyone else. Now, after two years of research, I’m still astonished by the lack of information on the best hormone replacement therapy and the barrier of medical sexism which leaves women to suffer symptoms unnecessarily. The silence around the menopause needs to become a cacophony and one day a symphony."

Fritha Saunders, editorial director for non-fiction, said: "I am delighted to be working with Kate on this ground-breaking book and was incredibly impressed by her passion for the subject. Speaking to her, I was appalled at my own lack of knowledge and felt outraged on behalf of women everywhere who are being shortchanged by the healthcare system."

Everything You Need to Know About the Menopause will be published in January 2022.