Midlife Representation in Books or Why I Wrote The Mid Witch

A quick post about why I write fiction for midlife women like me.

They say you should write the book you want to read. The book you are consciously or unconsciously looking for. The book you wish you could find on the bookshelf. This is a short post about why I write fiction that features a midlife woman.

The thing about getting older is that the female characters in many books that you read become so much less believable. These frisky women having incredible and rather improbable sex, with their slim figures, beautiful faces, fabulous hair and lots of energy – are unrelatable from the perspective of overweight, exhausted, hot (not that kind of hot) menopausal midlife.

Some books say they feature mature females, but they turn out to be 30-year-olds with little life experience. They are certainly not coping with the many problems that middle age brings.

Older female protagonists in books are often portrayed as ancient or not old enough and I wonder if this is why the menopause is so overlooked by writers.

My Menopausal Heroine

I began writing midlife heroines for fun. For the Mid Witch series I imagined a midlife woman much like myself who was in the menopause's grip. But she did not know what was happening to her body or, for that matter, her mind. Much like myself, she is unprepared for what midlife brings. Like the fictional Lilly, I am one of a generation of women who grew up without a clue as to what to expect. Our mothers never mentioned what they quietly called the ‘change of life,’ and they certainly did not prepare their daughters for the hormonal onslaught that gives rise to a plethora of crazy symptoms. We were simply led to believe that our periods would stop and everything would be okay. Perfectly natural to have a few hot flushes which would pass.

Just like Midlife Magic

Lilly is lucky. She visits her doctor, who realises straight away what is happening to her. For myself, it took several years of going to the doctor with various symptoms and being made to feel like a hypochondriac before I got help.  

The cure (for me HRT) brought with it a clarity of mind that I had not had for years. I wanted to share my experiences. Humour seemed the best option. Lilly gets a grip on her menopause and has a fresh, clear mind and change in attitude. She becomes less of a people pleaser and more proactive about what she wants. And she turns into a witch. I have not become a witch. But I am now enjoying positive feedback from midlife women who love my mature heroine and the humour thrown at midlife, which is a special kind of magic every writer cherishes.