Menopause affects women and the people around them. If you are in a relationship of any kind your partner may find menopause to be overwhelming just as it is for you. Plus think of the many daily interactions with extended family members, co-workers and friends and the ways menopause affects those relationships. The Menopause Makeover comes to the rescue to help you and those around you deal with menopause. Written by Staness Jonekos and Dr. Wendy Klein this guidebook steers you through menopause and offers great advice.

The Menopause Makeover Step Six Strengthen Your Relationships
Step Six of The Menopause Makeover guides us to sharing your menopause experience with others. Most of the reading is devoted to primary relationships such as marriage or co-habitation but some tips are also featured to deal with the many different people in your life.

Jonekos points out that The Menopause Makeover is designed to help all couples and their relationships though the writing focuses primarily on male/female partnerships.

One of the most common complaints during menopause is a decrease in libido or lack of libido altogether. There are a few reasons why your love life is feeling less than sizzling during menopause:

*Genital and vulvar dryness make having intercourse painful and uncomfortable
*Lack of energy and feeling tired leaves little desire for libido
*Stress and a busy lifestyle often means no time for your love life
*Those first grey hairs and wrinkles or extra pounds do little to bring out your sensual personality

How can Step Six help me?
Step Six of The Menopause Makeover explains what is happening to your body and how changes are affecting you and your partner. Menopause has long had a stigma of crazy women suffering from too many hot flashes and not enough lovemaking sessions. Men are unsure about what is going on; they just know things are not the same. Perhaps these changes are reminders that spouses are aging as well.

Step Six lets you and your partner decide what kind of relationship works best for you and then helps you both discover ways to make that relationship a reality. More than just the physical nature of your relationship, there are chances to reconnect during menopause. By opening up and talking to each other you and your partner you can find that menopause brings you closer together instead of further apart.

Your spouse and menopause
Step Six features a great list of survival tips designed to help men deal with what is going on. Delivered in straightforward guy-friendly language, these suggestions help men through a course of action. Jonekos explains that men are not interested in long-winded readings or psychological jargon. Instead men want to know what they can do to help both them and their partner survive menopause.

The challenges of Step Six Strengthen Your Relationships
Step Six may be challenging for women who are currently going through a divorce or thinking of dating again. Ending or beginning relationships are stressful and if this applies to you, you may need to gather more strength from other areas of The Menopause Makeover. Still this section is crucial for helping you to remember that what you do affects others. Menopause is not always easy to figure out but now that you have this guidebook, things will get a little easier.

Another challenge is working to avoid using menopause as a means of justifying every behavior. ‘It’s not me, it’s my menopause!’ we insist. We can and will feel out of control during menopause but there are still many times when we can claim ownership of our actions and words. This helps us regain some of that control that menopause seems to take away from us. We do not have to let menopause control us.

If you do find that despite your best efforts you are having a more difficult time during menopause and your relationships may be suffering as a result, talk to your healthcare provider.

Menopause does not have to leave you feeling isolated. Getting support from your loved ones is the best way to get through and deal with menopause. Step Six of The Menopause Makeover will help you and those around you feel better and more positive about this important transitional phase in your life.

Editor’s note: Trying to figure out what is happening is difficult enough but trying to explain it all to someone else seems impossible. I also feared turning menopause into a convenient scapegoat to explain my actions. Step Six is a great reminder to work on the many relationships in our lives. This is a great time to shatter those old hysterical stereotypes and strive for more positive outcomes during and beyond menopause.

**Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. provided this review copy of The Menopause Makeover to me completely free of charge.**

The Menopause Makeover, Staness Jonekos with Wendy Klein, M.D., Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., New York, 2010, 302 pp.

Please visit www.menopausemakeover.com