Two Women, One Legacy ✨—And Why Their Stories Belong in Your Midlife Reading List

Plus: What's Making Headlines in Menopause Health

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

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Hello friends ✨

Welcome to the March 17th ☘️ edition of Menopaussible—bringing you the news you can use and the ⚡ energy ⚡ you need to support your menopause journey.
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I'm Maria Caracci Ciccolella—mindset coach and menopause advocate. (Connect with me on ​IG​ or ​LinkedIn​!)

If you're anything like me, this transition has a way of making you pause (pun intended) and look around for company. Not just support, but inspiration. The kind that comes from discovering women who faced their own upheaval and not only survived it, but created something extraordinary from it. That hunger is what's been driving my reading this year—as well as a goal to spend more time with books that celebrate women's voices, stories, and achievements. Perhaps you’d like to join me?

To kick things off—and in honor of Women’s History Month—what better place to start than a book not just about one woman—but two. Both share the same first name, are related—and yet never knew each other. And, their respective works created ripple effects still felt through literature and society today.

Curious who they are? Come meet them below!

Meet the Marys: Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley

If the name Mary Shelley is ringing a bell right now, it may be because her masterpiece Frankenstein was reimagined for the screen this past October by director Guillermo del Toro. Considered one of literature's greatest classics, Frankenstein: Or The Modern Prometheus explores scientific advancement, responsibility, and empathy through the story of Victor Frankenstein's dogged pursuit to create life—thus defying the bounds of life and death. The tale, however, takes on far deeper meaning when you understand the influence of Shelley's mother—Mary Wollstonecraft—on her life, views, and writing.

If this is your first introduction to Wollstonecraft, you are not alone—her radical, defiant, and daring life (not to mention her ideas) would not likely have been prioritized in your standard history course. Yet it is her writing—notably A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)—that laid the groundwork for feminist philosophy and women's rights as we know them today.

Wollstonecraft believed women were rational human beings deserving the same rights as men—not creatures who existed solely for men's pleasure, and not wasted potential. Educate a woman, she argued, and you strengthen society.

Through her prolific writing, she criticized social injustices and advocated for equal professional and political rights. And she walked the walk: working as a writer and foreign correspondent, eschewing marriage, and raising her first child independently—all in the late 1700s!!

All of this had a profound impact on a daughter she never knew. Wollstonecraft died just 11 days after giving birth to her second daughter—Mary Shelley—from a post-birth infection.

Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley

The 2015 winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, Romantic Outlaws by Charlotte Gordon is a dual biography that weaves together the literary and feminist legacy of these two remarkable women.

While historical in nature, the book hardly reads as academic. Narrative storytelling places each woman side-by-side, with alternating chapters following each from early childhood through to adult intrigues—and scandals. Neither woman felt bound by the conventions of marriage (though both ultimately entered into it), and each set out with fierce conviction—across the European continent (Mary W. right into the center of the French Revolution) and through unconventional relationships (Mary S. entered into what we might today refer to as a “throuple”)—to lead the life she wanted to lead.

As a 21st-century reader, it's easy to view their adventures as ordinary by today's standards. Considered in the context of the late 1700s and early 1800s—when revolutionary thinking was met with conflict and turmoil across England, France, and the broader European continent—what they did was nothing short of extraordinary.

Shelley’s Frankenstein: Feminist Cautionary Tale?

Which brings us back to Frankenstein (yes—add it to your immediate follow-on reading list!). On its own, it is an extraordinary cautionary tale. But viewed through the lens of Wollstonecraft's influence, it introduces something far more profound: the derangement of Victor Frankenstein's creation—a "motherless" creature, rejected by his maker—as a warning about what is lost when women's voices and influence are erased.

A world without the influence of women is a dark world indeed.

Raising Their Voices

Their stories are a reminder that women have always found ways to rise—through uncertainty, through transformation, through the unknown. And the more of their stories we uncover, the more fuel we have for our own. That's exactly the spirit behind what I'm building here.

I'm committing to one intentional read a month—books about, by, and for women. So far, two strong picks:

• Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley—as discussed above
• Strong Ground by Brené Brown—this one could fuel a book club all on its own

Next up: Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Recommended by All My Friends Books, this deeply researched biography explores both Wilder's life and that of her daughter Rose—and examines the American ideal her books helped create. If your only reference for Laura Ingalls Wilder is the Little House series, author Caroline Fraser is about to completely reframe what you thought you knew.

Maybe you'll join me? Have a great "female" read to recommend? Whether you want to read along or help build the list, reply here 📧—I'd love to hear from you!

And if you needed any more proof that women's voices still need amplifying—the news this week has something to say about that too.

📰 Science Is Finally Paying Attention—But There's Still a Long Way to Go

A new piece just published in Nature—part of their International Women's Day collection—puts into sharp focus something many of us have felt but couldn't quite name: perimenopause, often the most disruptive phase of the entire menopause transition, remains one of the least studied. As one researcher puts it, "We're not good at treating perimenopause because we don't completely understand it." The result? Medical practice, public messaging, and women's own expectations are all evolving faster than science can keep up. Translation: you are not imagining things, and your instinct to seek information, ask questions, and advocate for yourself has never been more important. That's exactly what we're here for.

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And Some Women Are Being Left Even Further Behind

A brand new study out of University College London shines a long overdue spotlight on the menopause experiences of Black women. The first UK-wide survey of its kind found that 88% of Black women received no menopause education at school, while over half felt completely uninformed and frightened when symptoms began. Many who sought medical help described being dismissed, misdiagnosed, or told they were too young to be menopausal. While this study is UK-based, the experience it describes is not. This conversation needs to be louder—in clinics, in communities, and here.

Susan David, Ph.D. Susan David, Ph.D. is one of the world’s leading management thinkers and an award-winning Harvard Medical School psychologist. Her TED Talk on the topic of emotional agility has been seen by more than 10 million people. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal and often appears on national radio and television. Subscribe​