The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists claim about 6,000 women in the U.S. enter menopause every day (over 2 million per year), with an average of 27 million women of a certain age–or 20% of the American workforce–experiencing this natural human phenomenon each year. Yet hardly any central female characters in fiction ever deal with it, even though those 27 million women are certainly a large part of the target demographic for women’s fiction. Luckily, author Sara Stamey has no such compunction against tackling menopause head on with the heroine of her novel, PAUSE.
Spirited Lindsey Friedland is 52, divorcing an abusive husband, reluctantly celibate, stuck in a job that’s been less than inspiring for years, dealing with almost debilitating hot flashes that race up her spine at the most inopportune moments, and oh yeah, she’s also a cancer survivor who now has a chunk of one breast missing which are just a few reasons why she can’t picture herself reentering the dating scene. But reenter it she does, while simultaneously relearning how to love herself more in the process. A former hale-and-hearty outdoorsy, hiking, river-rafting Amazon, Lindsey can hardly believe she was ever the kind of person who actually allowed herself to become ensnared by–never mind married to–a handsome, passionate yet violent and unstable man who was not above throwing her beloved cats against a wall.
As PAUSE unfolds, readers get a glimpse into Lindsey’s parent’s own dysfunctional relationship, which has lasted right into their elderly years as cantankerous old Dad puts frail, aged Mom into the hospital. It’s quite stirring to watch the book’s thoughtful, gutsy protagonist figure out who she is, who she used to be, and who she wants to grow into becoming. Satisfyingly, new suitors run the gamut from humorously implausible and unappealing to entirely McDreamy; the kind of interesting, agreeable hunk with whom Lindsey’s sexual dry spell can end (even if McDreamy gets nicknamed “Mr. Maybe”, perhaps because he does not really possess much solid long-term relationship potential). Hearteningly, the novel delves beyond love interests into the subject of fulfilling one’s life’s purpose. Lindsey Friedland once wanted to be a journalist focusing on protecting and preserving the environment. How did she wind up spending years of her life under headphones transcribing medical dictation for doctors, some of whom may be doing more harm than good?
Sara Stamey’s novel PAUSE–whose heroine is a feisty, determined, middle-aged woman endeavoring to restart her love life and a career in journalism–is filled with lyrical prose and pure, thought-provoking joy.
~C.S. Holmes for IndieReader