Wise Women. The Menopause and beyond!

5x15 Bristol presents a special "In Conversation With" event at the beautiful Mount Without. Join psychologist and author Dr Sharon Blackie for a riotous conversation with campaigning journalist Kate Muir about Wise Women, the power of Hagitude and the Menopause.

The second half of a woman’s life is often portrayed as a time of decline and women have suffered not only from the silence around menopause but also medical sexism which has forced many to suffer unnecessarily and has resulted in 1 in 10 menopausal women leaving the workforce because of their symptoms and lack of support.

Sharon and Kate will talk about the ways in which we might move through midlife, menopause and beyond with creativity and vision and if the contemporary cultural narrative suggests that older women serve no purpose, then it’s long past time to take control of and tell our own stories.

European myth and folklore provides us with a dazzling array of not-to-be-messed-with elder-woman characters, including ungainly giantesses, glamorous fairy godmothers, misunderstood witches, fierce grandmothers and perspicacious wise women.

These stories of funny and feisty older women, then, can inspire us to challenge and change the current cultural discourse around ageing, and help us to reimagine an authentic and meaningful journey to and through elderhood.

Dr. Sharon Blackie is an award-winning author and psychologist with a background in mythology and folklore. As well as writing five books of fiction and nonfiction, her writing has appeared in anthologies and several international media outlets. Her awards include the Roger Deakin Award, and a Creative Scotland Writer’s Award.

Kate Muir is a women’s health expert, investigative journalist and documentary maker in the UK. She created and produced two ground-breaking Channel 4 documentaries on the menopause, presented by Davina McCall.

She is the author Everything You Need to Know About the Menopause (but were too afraid to ask) and founder member of The Menopause Charity. Previously, she was a foreign correspondent for The Times, before becoming the newspaper's chief film critic. She\s written four non-fiction books.

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What's Included? - Engaging conversation with Dr. Sharon Blackie and Kate Muir - Insights into the power of Hagitude and the Menopause - Exploration of European myth and folklore featuring inspiring elder-woman characters