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Flash Count Diary

A New Story About the Menopause

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Flash Count Diary

By: Darcey Steinke
Narrated by: Darcey Steinke
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Menopause hit Darcey Steinke hard. First came hot flushes. Then insomnia. Then depression. As she struggled to understand what was happening to her, she slammed up against a culture of silence and sexism. Some promoted hormone replacement therapy, others encouraged acceptance, but there was little that offered a path to understanding menopause in an engaged way.

Flash Count Diary is a powerful exploration into aspects of menopause that have rarely been written about, including the changing gender landscape that reduced levels of hormones brings, the actualities of transforming desires, and the realities of prejudice against older women. It is a deeply feminist book, honest about the intimations of mortality that menopause signals but also an argument for the ascendency, beauty, and power of the post-reproductive years in women’s lives.

 Aging & Longevity Menopause
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Critic reviews

"Many days I believe menopause is the new (if long overdue) frontier for the most compelling and necessary philosophy; Darcey Steinke is already there, blazing the way. This elegant, wise, fascinating, deeply moving book is an instant classic. I'm about to buy it for everyone I know" (MAGGIE NELSON)
"A searingly intelligent, richly imagined, deeply moving memoir and exploration of menopause. This is not like anything I have ever seen on the subject . . . [Steinke] takes her body, our history and nature itself seriously . . . I was incredibly stirred, educated and inspired by this book . . . I love this book. I admire this book. It's fierce, and it's important" (ELIZABETH GILBERT)
"A fiercely intelligent trawl through menopausal waters that is not afraid to confront the intricacies of the female body and mind. There is a beautiful precision to the writing" (CATHY RENTZENBRINK)
"Incandescent" (OLIVIA LAING)
"[Steinke's] refreshing description of the second act is stylish. Based on interviews, it is a new take on the power of women at this stage of adulthood . . . she has a positive take on desire and sexuality, which many women will find uplifting and surprising"
"Darcey Steinke opens the door on to the dark, frightening and lonely room where the Menopause has long resided and draws it into the sun, into the light. It’s a book for all women (and men), written with brilliance, imagination, humanity, lucidity and love" (JULIET STEVENSON)
"Revolutionary"
"Part memoir, part manifesto, part natural history, this book is a profound white-knuckle ride through unnamed territories" (JENNY OFFILL, author of Dept. of Speculation)
"Meticulously researched and passionately written, Flash Count Diary examines the shame and stigma attached to female aging so closely that their opposites are revealed. Steinke posits menopause as a channel through which new realms of possibility, depth, strength and growth can be revealed. An inspiring and visionary book" (CHRIS KRAUS, author of I Love Dick)
"I hope that Steinke’s book, which I consumed hungrily, will encourage a wave of work by and about women undergoing what is, quite literally, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Steinke makes the case that the inexorable slide away from fertility is a rebirth of agency, and her book is the fruit of the very creativity it describes"
All stars
Most relevant
The book raised some interesting insights into the menopause but I found that too much time was spent in feminist ranting about societal expectations and stereotypes of older women. The comparison with the matriarchal whale and especially how this was wrapped up in the ending were fascinating. Otherwise somewhat unbalanced view that didn’t recognise the varied experiences women have and benefits some might gain from carefully considered HRT treatment. Don’t read this book thinking it will better help you understand the menopause but consider it if you enjoy want a more sociopolitical perspective.

Good ending

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Intelligent and very personal airing of a journey covering some of he bio psychosocial and existential aspects of the menopausal experiences. Thoroughly enjoyed

Excellent airing of the subject

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