Creating Community Connections

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I refuse to stay silent about this- for the sake of the women coming behind me. They deserve more than whispers and mystery. They deserve real talk, real stories, and real preparation. They deserve more than confusion, isolation, or surprise. They deserve honesty, education, and support.

We deserve this- right now!

This isn’t a niche topic. It’s life. And it’s time we rally together- not just to talk about it, but to share our stories, compare notes, and create a community of wisdom.

The more I learn, I’m amazed at the number of women just walking around sipping their lattes, managing full lives while their bodies are literally reforming- like casual superheroes in cardigans, silently battling hot flashes and hormonal plot twists.

When they should be crowned and fed grapes all while the fans blow and the water pours!

Yes! I’m amazed and want to talk about it!

So on November 18th, we’re getting loud (but lovingly so) about something too often wrapped in shame or secrecy: menopause.

Join us for “Whispers to Wisdom: Menopause Unmuted”- a conversation that peels back the hush, breaks down the stigma, and invites us all to laugh, learn, and lean into the power of this transition.

More information coming soon. Save the date! 

A Breaking Bread Village space- in partnership with Bookmarks, where books spark deeper conversations and stories find new meaning. Together, we’ll take books off the shelf- and explore what we’ve been carrying on ours.

By engaging in intentional dialogue and meaningful reflection, this series invites us to listen, learn, and connect across experiences and perspectives. It invites people to explore what they’ve put on their mental or emotional “shelves”- and how those things shape their worldview. Books become the entry point, but the real focus is dialogue, reflection, and community.

We will explore fiction, nonfiction, self help, religion, and so much more.

We understand the literal lifespan of a book on a shelf. However, at times the metaphorical “life” we place on our own shelves- memories, lessons, beliefs, and identities- quietly gather dust or remain untouched, waiting to be revisited, reexamined, or rewritten. Or shape how we show up in the world, even when we’re not fully aware they’re still there. Or often define the chapters we write next, whether we’ve chosen them or inherited them.

Let’s explore meaningful stories together, reflect on what they stir in us, and grow through the conversations they spark.

• The New Menopause (Dr. Mary Claire Haver) – A New York Times bestseller offering comprehensive, science-based guidance to help women thrive through menopause.
• How to Menopause (Tamsen Fadal) – A bestselling, friend-like guide combining expert advice with heartfelt storytelling.
• The Menopause Manifesto and Menopausing Collection – A powerful duo emphasizing that menopause is a natural transformation needing education, empowerment, and community.
• Food for Menopause (Dr. Linia Patel) -A guide to using nutrition to manage symptoms like hot flashes and weight gain—more than a diet book, it’s an empowerment tool for feeling good in your body.
• Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I'd Known About Menopause (Naomi Watts) A humorous yet candid memoir reflecting on personal and cultural aspects of menopause. However, it has sparked discussion about privilege and representation.
• All Fours (Miranda July, Fiction) A novel anchored in the perimenopause experience, this story resonated deeply and sparked a Starz adaptation—capturing emotional depth, re-evaluation, and rediscovery.
• The Change (Comic Book- Whoopi Goldberg) Though not a book about real-world experiences, this comic reimagines menopause as a superpower—written by Whoopi Goldberg, it offers a creative, empowering lens on the transition.
• Menopause: The Anthology (edited by Catherine Pestano & Cherry Potts) This anthology features poems and short fiction from a wide array of writers exploring menopause with “humour and anger, relief and distress,"