Menopause came as a surprise despite my mother's warnings.

A CBC personal essay recounts how the author's mother warned her about menopause, and how the author later experienced perimenopausal anxiety and other symptoms.

A CBC personal essay describes a woman's recollections of early warnings about menopause from her mother and her later lived experience. Her mother gave her books and a newsletter, A Friend Indeed by Janine O'Leary Cobb, when she was a teenager. Despite that early exposure, the author says she was unprepared when perimenopause began. She writes that at 47 she began waking at 3 a.m. with intense anxiety and other symptoms. Key facts: - The author's mother introduced menopause reading material during the author's adolescence, including A Friend Indeed. - One newsletter story about a woman who entered menopause after a hysterectomy frightened the author as a teen. - The author reports that perimenopause began in her late 40s and included nights waking with strong anxiety. - She notes that anxiety is a symptom of perimenopause and says the topic is explored in Season 2 of Small Achievable Goals. - The author frames menopause as a period of shedding old roles and gaining a clearer sense of self. Summary: The essay highlights a contrast between early warnings and the author's later, unexpected experience of perimenopause, especially anxiety and sleep disruption. The author has explored the issue publicly in Season 2 of Small Achievable Goals. Undetermined at this time.