Welcome to the first of my Meno Chats where, in celebration of World Menopause Awareness Month, I'm going to be joined by some of the lovely women from my Facebook group, Your Best Midlife, as they share with me their personal menopause journey.

There's something hugely inspiring and reassuring about hearing the stories of normal, everyday women, sharing their personal experience of the menopause.  We all have a different story to tell, but knowing we're not alone in this  is enormously comforting.

Today I'm joined by Sue Ladbrook.  We're discussing how difficult it can be to know what to expect when you don't have your mum or any female relatives to ask.  Having lost my own mum in my early 20s, I can totally relate to Sue's experience.

October has been designated menopause awareness month with the 18th October designated by the International Menopause Society as World Menopause Day.  

Menopause should be a time to be celebrated.  A time when women move into a new and exciting season in their lives.  So often we get bogged down in all the negative messaging about menopause (and let's face it, for many of us it can be a pretty messy time) but there is most certainly life after menopause and I would even go as far as to say, ladies - THIS IS OUR TIME.

So I'd love to invite all the women listening to come and join our amazing community in Your Best Midlife over on Facebook where we cheer each other on and build each other up so we can all thrive through midlife and beyond.