Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 35:2 (Spring 2021)
Article: Book Review Seven Transforming Gifts Of Menopause: An Unexpected Spiritual Journey By Cheryl Bridges Johns (Brazos Press, 2020)
Author: Patty Craft

Book Review
Seven Transforming Gifts Of Menopause: An Unexpected Spiritual Journey
By Cheryl Bridges Johns (Brazos Press, 2020)

Patty Craft

Patty Craft is a minister with experience as an associate pastor and grant writer and has worked in nonprofit leadership and curriculum development. She is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene with an undergraduate degree in Christian Education and a masters in Curriculum and Instruction. Patty has been married for thirty-plus years to an amazing guy.

In Seven Transforming Gifts of Menopause: An Unexpected Spiritual Journey, Cheryl Bridges Johns shines a new light on the dramatic transformation that takes place during perimenopause and menopause. She invites us to see menopause as more than a time of biological change by examining the psychological and spiritual aspects. One of the most compelling aspects of the book is how she brings to light the way misogyny and a diminished view of women’s bodies has prevented women from embracing the normal biological experience of menopause as a holistic, transformative experience.

Johns holds an MA from Wheaton College and a PhD from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. She has extensive experience in both ministry and academia and teaches spiritual renewal at Pentecostal Theological Seminary in Cleveland, Tennessee. According to her, women can experience seven opportunities, or gifts, through menopause. During menopause, a woman’s changing hormonal balance begins to reveal a new way of experiencing life. While society has ignored, misunderstood, and even vilified these experiences, Johns labels them as gifts that at times can be overwhelming and possibly unwanted. But, as Johns explains, by working through each gift, or development task, women can be transformed and ready to enthusiastically embrace the second half of life.

According to Johns, “uncovering” is the first of these gifts and functions as a gateway into the transformation of menopause. Johns says, “As a new hormonal balance emerges, women begin to take note of the disparity in power, injustice in society, betrayal in relationships, and disappointments that they once were willing to overlook. In other words, the rose-colored glasses come off” (39). Biological, menopausal changes are expressed through the intensity of emotions women sometimes feel they have no control over. For Johns, working with and through these emotions is key to confronting both personal and societal experiences of injustice, instead of ignoring them the way women are encouraged to do.

The second and third gifts, anger and the authentic self, are closely tied to uncovering. Grieving loss, forgiveness, and dealing with anger in an honest and healthy way are important tasks for women to work through. Expanded time and spiritual freedom...