Why a Playbook:When I was writing The Secret Pleasures of Menopause, I began to hear more and more stories from other women about exactly what I was writing about: how opening up to and expanding joy and pleasure in midlife creates vibrant health physically, emotionally, and spiritually—including the best sex of your life. I was inspired by the many touching and creative stories I was hearing from women who definitely saw midlife as the start of the absolute best years of their lives. So I decided to put together a playbook (as opposed to a workbook) that you could use as a companion to The Secret Pleasures of Menopause—a book that would provide you with specific examples of what real, live women just like you are actually doing to enhance their levels of life-giving nitric oxide through pleasure. In these pages, you’ll meet women with strong, passionate life forces who respect and love themselves enough to speak their truth; heal their pasts; and let go of mindsets, relationships, and behaviours that no longer serve them. They also don’t hesitate to kick up their heels and have a great time, doing whatever makes their hearts sing. The upshot: They’ve been able to stoke their inner fire and cultivate pleasure, joy, and vibrant health on every level and with every breath. Let this book be your personal guide to the territory of life-giving pleasure. And make sure that you use the space provided to write down and commit to your own personal pleasure plan.