I'm Too Young for This!: The Natural Hormone Solution to Enjoy Perimenopause

A
LSO BY
S
UZANNE
S
OMERS

Bombshell
Sexy Forever Recipe Bible
Sexy Forever
Knockout
Breakthrough
Ageless
Suzanne Somers’ Slim and Sexy
The Sexy Years
Suzanne Somers’ Fast and Easy
Suzanne Somers’ Eat, Cheat, and Melt the Fat Away
Suzanne Somers’ Get Skinny on Fabulous Food
Suzanne Somers’ Eat Great, Lose Weight
Somersize Recipe Contest Cookbook
Somersize Appetizers
Somersize Cocktails
Somersize Chocolate
Somersize Desserts
365 Ways to Change Your Life
Keeping Secrets
After the Fall
Wednesday’s Children
Touch Me

Heather Jackson, editor supreme at Crown, was my driver on this one. She has edited the last six books for me and always makes my books better. This one is no exception. Her keen sense of not overwhelming the reader as well as her strengths of eliminating redundancy and keeping the text on point (reminding me gently, and then sometimes not so gently, of the message of the book) all forced me to keep moving forward to make reading
I’m Too Young for This!
like an e-ticket on the expressway. As she says, this reader wants this information … now. Because Heather understood this she wouldn’t let me linger. I tend to digress and go off in other directions that I feel you must know, but Heather kept saying “stay with the message.” The reader wants to know how, what, and when. I like that Heather is that great combination of woman: sweet, smart, and strong. We are a great team. I thank you, Heather, for your excellence and your brain. You are a spectacular editor.

My thanks and gratitude to Dr. Prudence Hall for writing her insightful and knowledgeable foreword to this book. She is not only my friend but my trusted gynecologist. She has created the Hall Center in Venice, California, a cutting-edge medical space and place of serenity and beauty, making all who walk through her magnificent Indian-themed doors feel embraced and safe. You are immediately offered green or lemon balm tea, and while you sit and reflect you know you are in the right place. She is one of the very best in the field, a woman in menopause herself, therefore having a complete understanding of the passages that make women feel so out of their bodies. Women and men alike flock to her center.

Alan Hamel, my husband and partner in everything, shares absolute enthusiasm for all my projects and watches out for me in all arenas: legal, the deal, keeping away the wolves, and charming the prospects. He is a marketing genius, a true visionary, although he does have a tendency to overbook, but other than that, I am the luckiest woman on the planet to have a husband/manager who cares so deeply. He is the love of my life, a love deeply intimate and intertwined. We are both perfectly hormonally balanced, and because of that our life together is exciting, fun, and sexy.

Thanks to all who contributed their brain power, knowledge, expertise, and emotions. Women wrote me letters pouring their hearts out, begging for an answer. I was fueled by them because I knew I had the information to change their lives.

Dr. Jonathan Wright is always my go-to doctor for all answers regarding the new way to age. He uses “nature’s tools” and was the first doctor in the United States to prescribe a full course of hormone replacement for women, offering them a quality of life never before achieved naturally. I appreciate his contributions once again.

Bill Faloon and his scientific staff graciously reviewed and provided feedback on the book while incorporating cutting-edge solutions for the perimenopause passage. Thanks to his brilliant scientific staff at the Life Extension Foundation, including: Dr. Luke Huber, Blake Gossard, April Roberts, Justin Henry, and Dr. Scott Fogle. I am extremely grateful for my ongoing relationship with Bill Faloon and the Life Extension Foundation.

ForeverHealth.com will revolutionize this new type of care, making this approach for women and men accessible, affordable, convenient, and hopefully the next standard of care. Jim England, president of the Somers Companies has been instrumental in bringing Forever Health to fruition. I thank the initial team of outstanding doctors who share the Forever Health vision and joined the network: Dr. Michael Galitzer, Dr. Ron Rothenberg, Dr. Prudence Hall, Dr. Neil Rouzier, Dr. Theresa Ramsey, Dr. Rachel Burnett, Dr. Evelyn Brust, Dr. Larry Brock, Dr. Sean Breen, Dr. Joseph Upton, Dr. Cesar Lara, Dr. Sue Decotiis, Dr. Gail Gagnon, Dr. Anju Mathur, Dr. Joseph Raffaele, Dr. Gowri Rocco, and Dr. Marsha Nunley. Thanks to David Schmidt of LifeWave, Dr. Andy Jurow, my friend and nutrutionist supreme Brenda Watson, Dr. Rick Sponaugle, Dr. Bill Rae, and Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker for their contributions.

My design team once again gave me a great cover, under the direction of the EVP of our company, Caroline Somers, and Danielle Shapero-Rudolph. Caroline oversees the brand in all categories and always puts out beautiful, fresh-looking product with supersexy color and appeal. I’ve lost count of how many book covers we’ve done together, but I always love the most recent more than the last and I say that on every book. My thanks to both of you for always coming through with such perfection; and Caroline, I love you.

Once again, my daughter by marriage, Leslie Hamel, came through with her incredible talent and keen sense of humor in creating the illustrations of the Seven Dwarves of Perimenopause! She captured the combination of humor and frustration that defines this difficult passage. I knew she would nail it. Every dwarf makes me laugh or smile. Great work (as always). I love you.

And to my fabulous team at Crown: I adore our relationship, a real easy back-and-forth, all working together and never at odds, headed by our president and publisher, a strong and focused leader, Maya Mavjee, and Tina Constable, senior vice president and publisher of Crown Archetype. This is our twenty-first book together and it never gets old. Tina is a great person and a pleasure to work with. Thanks also to Mauro DiPreta, Tammy Blake, Meredith McGinnis, and Chris Tanigawa. Thanks to the sales group; I can’t sell a book without them and they are the best: Christine Edwards, Andy Augusto, and Jacqui Lebow. And thanks to my copy editor, Laurie McGee. She was right there with me and I appreciate it.

Sandi Mendelson is my publicist extraordinaire, my maker of bestsellers, my taste authority, and my sexy girlfriend; I love working with her.

Cover photo by my go-to photographer, Cindy Gold, and her team, who make having pictures taken a breeze; and I love the look. Thanks to Bonnie Holland with her deft touch; thank you, Cindy and Bonnie, so much. And thanks to Mooney, who’s been keeping my hair fabulous for the last twenty years and is such a pleasure to be with. We share a mutual passion for health and wellness.

Marc Chamlin is my attorney of many, many books. He knows the literary world, knows how to wade through the nuances of publishing nationally and internationally, and he keeps me happy and protected. He is still
the guy
!

Thanks to my friends at SexyForever.com.

To my fabulous “girls” who run the office: my great executive assistant, Julie Turkel, and my other fabulous personal assistant, Jordyn Goodman. Couldn’t do it without you both.

Marsha Yanchuck, thanks for all the detail work and all our thirty-five years together. It’s so appreciated.

And to my little friends, my cats, Betty and Gloria, who lie in my office window for hours, sleep on my chair, and come sit on my lap from time to time, keeping me company while I’m writing my books.

It does “take a village” and I am grateful for all who populate mine. Thanks all.

Do you remember when you woke up from a deep night’s sleep and, like a child, bounded out of bed with energy and delight to greet a new day? When was the last time you looked in the mirror and felt beautiful and happy to be you? What about feeling madly in love and staying in bed all day with your beloved? Too many of my young patients in their thirties and early forties tell me it’s been way too long since they’ve felt these youthful feelings. Instead, they tell me they’re tired, gaining weight, depressed, angry, sleepless, and feeling just plain awful.