Best Books About Perimenopause: A Practical Reading Guide
Discover the best books about perimenopause in 2026. Reviews of The Menopause Brain, Perimenopause Power, The New Menopause, Hormone Repair Manual and more.
Why Reading About Perimenopause Helps
Most women going through perimenopause were never taught what to expect. Medical appointments are often short, and the research base is changing rapidly. A well-chosen book can fill the gap between what a GP has time to explain and what you actually need to understand to make informed decisions about your health. The best perimenopause books are written by clinicians or researchers who translate the current evidence into practical guidance without oversimplifying or sensationalising. This guide covers five books that stand out for different reasons: medical depth, practical symptom management, hormone therapy guidance, exercise physiology, and hormonal cycle science. Reading even two or three of these will leave you significantly better equipped to navigate your own perimenopause, advocate for yourself at appointments, and understand the choices available to you.
The Menopause Brain by Dr Lisa Mosconi
Dr Lisa Mosconi is a neuroscientist and director of the Women's Brain Initiative at Weill Cornell Medicine. The Menopause Brain is the most scientifically rigorous book on this list and focuses specifically on how hormonal changes affect the brain: cognition, mood, sleep, and neurological risk. Mosconi's research shows that the brain changes that occur during menopause transition are significant and real, not imaginary, and she explains the mechanisms clearly without requiring a science background. This book is best for women who want to understand the neurological basis of brain fog, memory issues, anxiety, and mood swings, and who are interested in lifestyle strategies, particularly nutrition and exercise, that protect brain health. It is not primarily a hormone therapy guide but treats HRT as one of several tools and reviews the evidence fairly.
Perimenopause Power by Maisie Hill
Maisie Hill is a women's health practitioner and author whose work focuses on the hormonal cycle and perimenopause. Perimenopause Power is the most readable book on this list and works well as an entry point for someone just beginning to notice symptoms. Hill covers the phases of the menstrual cycle, how perimenopause disrupts them, and how to work with your changing hormones rather than against them. She includes practical chapters on sleep, nutrition, exercise, and relationships. The book is also notable for covering the emotional and identity dimensions of perimenopause in a way that clinical books often skip. If you read only one book and want something that covers both the practical and the personal, this is the one to start with.
The New Menopause by Dr Mary Claire Haver
Dr Mary Claire Haver is an American OB-GYN who built a large following through evidence-based social media content before writing The New Menopause, published in 2024. The book covers the full spectrum of perimenopause and menopause symptoms with a strong emphasis on hormone therapy options, nutrition (particularly the Galveston Diet approach she developed), and strength training. Haver is direct about the historical under-treatment of menopause symptoms by the medical establishment and writes clearly about how to have productive conversations with your doctor. This book is best for women who want a comprehensive, no-nonsense clinical overview that covers both lifestyle and medical options without dogma. It reads quickly despite covering substantial ground.
Hormone Repair Manual by Lara Briden
Lara Briden is a naturopathic doctor who writes with strong grounding in evidence-based medicine. The Hormone Repair Manual is specifically targeted at women over 40 and covers natural approaches to managing perimenopause symptoms, including supplements, nutrition, and lifestyle strategies. Briden is nuanced about hormone therapy and does not push readers toward or away from it, instead explaining how to decide what is right for individual circumstances. The book includes a practical symptom-by-symptom guide and covers conditions that overlap with perimenopause including thyroid dysfunction and insulin resistance. It is best for women who want to understand the full range of options, including non-pharmaceutical approaches, and who appreciate a detailed reference they can dip in and out of as specific symptoms become relevant.
Roar by Dr Stacy Sims
Dr Stacy Sims is an exercise physiologist and researcher whose work specifically addresses how the female physiology responds to training across the hormonal lifespan. Roar was originally published for active women of all ages but contains crucial chapters on perimenopause and how training needs to change during the transition. Sims is particularly good on the science of muscle loss in perimenopause, why steady-state cardio alone is insufficient, and how to structure strength training and high-intensity intervals to protect lean mass and bone density. She covers nutrition timing, protein requirements, and recovery in detail. This book is best for women who are already active or who want to use exercise as a primary perimenopause management strategy. It pairs well with The New Menopause for a rounded picture of both medical and lifestyle approaches.
A Suggested Reading Order
If you are new to perimenopause, start with Perimenopause Power for context and emotional grounding, then move to The New Menopause for a more clinical and comprehensive overview. If you are considering hormone therapy and want to understand the evidence, add the Hormone Repair Manual as a reference. If brain fog, anxiety, or cognitive symptoms are your primary concern, The Menopause Brain addresses those specifically and in depth. If exercise and strength training are central to your approach, Roar belongs on the shelf regardless of where you are in the journey. None of these books are a substitute for medical advice, and all of them will help you come to appointments with better questions. Tracking your symptoms consistently alongside your reading, using a tool like PeriPlan that lets you log symptoms and track patterns over time, gives you data to match against the information you are absorbing.
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