'I NEED this book. We ALL need this book! If menopause happened to men, there would be CELEBRATIONS and parties every time one of them completed their change.' MARIAN KEYES

Women over forty and in their post-fertility years are the most underestimated and ignored demographic in society. In The Shift writer and journalist Sam Baker seeks to empower and give voice to women to create a new narrative.

The essential manifesto for any woman staring the second half of their lives in the face and wondering, WTF is going on?

* Invisible to society now you're past child-bearing age?

* Tired of being disregarded, overlooked and underestimated?

* Wondering what the hell is happening to your body, mind and internal thermostat?

Women over forty are the most ignored demographic in society. And yet this is the time when you are likely to have the most freedom, power, confidence and self knowledge than ever before. Some serious life has been lived: there have been great loves, heartbreaks, births, marriages, careers, betrayals, bereavements and survival.

So what now? What happens when the narrative given to you by society - husband, babies, house - runs out and you become storyless?

Including chapters on menopause, sex, culture, work, rage and freedom, writer and journalist Sam Baker shares her experiences of life post 40 and shows how women to create their own story. This needn't herald the era of loose clothing and hair dye; or hot flashes and bad sleep (though there is that too). It's time women north of 40 took a leaf out of the millennial handbook and reinvented things our way.

Harness your energy, opinions and power and create a liberating new narrative for the second half of life.

(P)2020 Hodder & Stoughton Limited