Oh, man. I have such mixed feelings about this book. First the good: This book really woke me up to the things I need to do at age 50+ to take care of my body (and mind/emotions, too), and why I need to do them. I've long known I need to take better care of myself...yeah, yeah, don't we all? And I've tried, focusing on my eating for a while, on exercise for a while, etc., but my resolve doesn't stick long-term, because general thoughts about *I should do x, y, or z* don't keep me engaged or motivated. This book explained the science of it all in a way that made sense, finally, to me, and has lit a fire under me. As a woman who experiences a great deal of stress and who now lives in 50+-year-old body, I need to do things differently if I'm going to cope, feel joy, and live a long life. This book helped me to see that, and to understand what I need to do. I'm incredibly grateful to the authors and publisher for that.
Now the bad: A book about women's health, by two men? It's not that the science is wrong. It's the tone. The main writer's humor has that curmudgeonly guy humor thing going on: sometimes funny, sometimes cheesy, sometimes cringey, and sometimes (to me) offensive. Plus, he makes numerous observations about women's physical desirability. Ick. I can't imagine why the book's female editor(s) didn't say in countless places, "No, no, no. You can't say that. Women won't like that." I wrote "Ugh" in the margins in a bunch of places, in silent protest. Plus, at roughly 350 pages, this book is way too bloated. More often than not for a given topic, each of the authors (one, the main experiential/anecdote guy, and the other, the science/doctor/rule guy) wrote his own chapter, with his own points and stories. Predictably, there's a huge amount of overlap/repetition. This book could have easily been 200 pages and made it's very excellent points in a much more concise and streamlined way. I wish the publisher would re-release this book, re-edited for length and tone, perhaps with a female co-author added. Now, *that's* a book I could more fully endorse. But I do still endorse this version, even with all its very real (and annoying) flaws.
For health information/impact on me, I give it five stars. For tone, I give it two. I'll round up and give it four stars here, with the above reservations. Bottom line: I highly recommend women 40+ read it, and especially those over 50. Do what I did if it helps you, and doodle little eye rolls in the margins when the tone gets irritating. Underline the most important parts and points so you can just reread those, and skip the irritating stuff, the next time you read the book again (something I plan to do regularly, to keep me motivated). But do read it. I think the information here is super important, and it explains the science of stress and aging bodies in a way that dramatically changed how I'm going to approach my health. I can deal with the rest if I need to—and given my desire to deal with stress better and live longer, I think I do. Unfortunately, without a good, strong re-edit, I'm afraid it'll be hard for the publisher to find readers in the generations of women behind me, who (rightly so) have far less patience for such tone-deafness. But for the sake of your health, do try. Take the medicine. It's good for you, even if it sometimes tastes bad.