Gail Sheehy's Understanding Men's Passages: Discovering the New Map of Men's Lives

Nicolette Beard's Man-o-pause points us to a new book by Gail Sheehy who details the psychology of men over 40 in Understanding Men's Passages: Discovering the New Map of Men's Lives. Nicolette is a fan of Sheehy's previous writings and this book appears to be as topical as one can get:

From Amazon.com:

Inspired by her husband's struggle with a midlife career crisis, Sheehy has compiled nearly 10 years worth of interviews and research into this book, revealing the fears and self-doubts of men over 40 who struggle with identity crises both at work and with their partners and children.

Sheehy also defines male menopause as a period in which hormones, including testosterone--and therefore potency and sex drive--drop, and men suffer from irritability and mood swings. She cites the statistics that claim more than 52 percent of men between the ages of 40 and 70 can expect some degree of impotence--which translates into at least 20 million men. "When ignored or denied, this sexual freeze extends more deeply into every aspect of a man's life than was previously thought," she writes. "It can be an underlying cause of depression, divorce, even suicide."

andropause