Seven Transforming Gifts of Menopause - by Cheryl Bridges Johns (Paperback)

About the Book

A wise spiritual guide helps women navigate menopause and embrace the remarkable physical, psychological, and spiritual transformation that occurs in this stage of life.

Book Synopsis

Menopause is a dramatic but largely overlooked developmental window to the second half of life. Although today's women are more aware of and actively involved in mapping their menopausal journey than generations before, many still do not see menopause as a time of important psychological and spiritual transformation.

This book goes far beyond hot flashes and gets to the very heart of the midlife journey, helping women find their unique voice and speak their truth in an era of #MeToo and #ChurchToo. Coming alongside readers as a wise spiritual guide, pastor and theologian Cheryl Bridges Johns identifies seven key developmental "tasks" of menopause and gives practical ways women can embrace each one. She encourages women to view these tasks as gifts as they experience the remarkable physical, emotional, and spiritual transformation that occurs in this stage of life.

Written in a warm and conversational tone, this book helps women chart a course for the future, leading them to a renewed sense of identity, a more focused vision for life, and a deeper spirituality. Each chapter includes guided questions for personal reflection and study questions for group discussion.

From the Back Cover

"A guidebook for the spiritual life during menopause"

"I thought of a dozen women into whose hands I wanted to press this book while I was still in the middle of reading it. Cheryl has created a guidebook for the spiritual life during menopause that is accessible and honest, yes, but also filled to the brim with wonder, healing, and empowerment. I am so grateful that she has done the work for a new generation of women coming into their own power. This book is itself a gift."
--Sarah Bessey, author of Miracles and Other Reasonable Things and Jesus Feminist

"Every woman should read this book, no matter what season of life she finds herself in. It is full of revelation, wisdom, grace, insight, and understanding. I could not stop reading."
--Christine Caine, founder of Propel Women & A21

"This book contains the makings of a cultural revolution among a much-neglected and underestimated demographic of women who may not see their own potential. So buckle up and brace yourself to join the revolution. Begin the quest to find your inner dragon and discover what God wants you to do with the rest of your life."
--Carolyn Custis James, author of Half the Church: Recapturing God's Global Vision for Women and Malestrom: Manhood Swept into the Currents of a Changing World

"Johns invites women of a certain age to be a force of wisdom, love, and justice in the world. She asserts that menopause offers just the space women need for such a transformation. Menopause can be precarious and painful, but it can also be filled with the potential for generative goodness that women, and the world, need."
--Kelley Nikondeha, author of Defiant: What the Women of Exodus Teach Us about Freedom

"This book is for all women who desire to dispel the myths of menopause. It is a compass for those who are premenopausal as well as those who have already weathered the journey. Men and women will learn how to mutually navigate these biological changes with wisdom. This book will be especially helpful to younger women who are going through premature or induced menopause."
--Gricel Medina, speaker, church planter, and pastor ordained through the Evangelical Covenant Church

About the Author

Cheryl Bridges Johns (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is senior professor of discipleship and Christian formation at Pentecostal Theological Seminary. She has researched the ways human development intersects with spiritual transformation for over three decades. Johns was formerly co-pastor of New Covenant Church of God in Cleveland, Tennessee. She is a leading ecumenist, representing the Pentecostal movement in several venues, and is past president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies.