Manopause
What can you tell our readers about your new book Manopause?
Manopause: Your Guide to Surviving His Changing Life is a book written by women, for women, even though men will enjoy it as well. The book helps women understand what their men are going through, both physically and psychologically, during the sometimes confusing 40 to 65-year-old period of a man’s life. Manopause also helps readers answer questions as to why their men are behaving the way they are during these years, and offers ways for women to improve their relationships as their men are passing through this period.
What are the signs of your man entering manopause?
Men’s testosterone generally begins declining, at the rate of about 1 percent per year, in their early 30’s. By the time men reach their 40’s and 50’s the cumulative effect of that gradual decline becomes noticeable. It can evidence itself in both physical and behavioral ways. Physically, men may experience loss of muscle mass, lower levels of energy and stamina, a lower libido and in some cases, men may become depressed. This is partially because testosterone is a natural anti-depressant. Behaviorally, men may become irritable, moody, hypersensitive, grumpy, even aggressive. This is due both to their hormonal loss, and to feelings of vulnerability that are new to them, and uncomfortable for them
The book is based on neuroscience, medicine and psychology, so for those who are not well-versed in these disciplines, how can they appreciate the book?
Since neither of us is a medical professional, we are very aware of the importance of making technical information easily understandable for readers. So we wrote in language that we ourselves understand, and we are sure that our readers will, too. We included a quiz, which introduces many of the concepts which are explained in the book. This quiz lets women test both their general knowledge of men, and the impact their own attitudes may have on their mates. And within the book, we give a wealth of practical tips, tools and solutions to help our readers.
You have worked together for a long time now, but can you tell us about your backgrounds before you collaborated?
Prior to becoming writing partners, Lisa worked as a creative executive in the television industry, and Kathy worked in advertising. Since embarking on our partnership, we have not only written and produced television and motion pictures, we have also written a book that is a consumers’ guide to fertility, which is recognized as the “bible” in its field.
How much research was required to write this book?
Because of the complex and multi-dimensional nature of manopause, we needed to research findings, and conduct very extensive interviews with world-renowned experts in a multitude of medical areas. These included urologists, endocrinologists, neuro-psychiatrists and psychologists. We also consulted experts in sociology and anthropology. And we spoke to hundreds of men and women about their personal experiences.
When did your interest in changes in men come about?
At an annual birthday lunch with a group of close girlfriends, we realized that our conversation had moved on from sippy cups and middle-school soccer games, to questions about changes in our mid-life partners. We put out feelers to a wider group, and discovered that they, too, had questions about their men. When we looked for answers, we found there was no book that was a resource for the many women all over the world who love their midlife men. As writers, we knew that this was a book that was needed, so we started on our research.
Why write a book on men and not women?
Menopause is a subject that has been widely discussed, and widely written about. Manopause has largely remained hidden, since men haven’t wanted to talk about it, and society as a whole hasn’t wanted to acknowledge it. By keeping ourselves in the dark on the subject of men’s changes, we are missing an opportunity to turn a midlife crisis into a midlife opportunity… an opportunity to build happier, richer and more fulfilling lives.
You have spent years producing network television, cable and feature motion pictures. Can you tell us a little bit more about these?
We love understanding what makes people tick, so we have always been drawn to true life stories. We have been honored with the task of bringing many famous true life stories to the screen. Among them was “Life of the Party”, the story of Pamela Churchill Harriman, the British-born courtesan turned U.S. Ambassador to France, which generated Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, and “Gucci: A House Divided”, the story of the Gucci family and their fashion empire, which was written for director Martin Scorsese.
What is next for you both?
We are so excited to have brought manopause into the open. We will be spending our time in the near future working on ways to spread the word, as it is our hope that women will take what they discover in our book and pass it forward. Helping people accept and embrace manopause will encourage a shift in the cultural canvas that will give us all the opportunity to have richer and more gratifying lives with our manopause men.
Why is your self help book set apart from the rest?
Manopause: Your Guide to Surviving his Changing Life is the first and only self help book written about manopause. We hope that your readers who want to learn more about manopause will visit us at themanopauseman web page.
Female First Lucy Walton