About the Book

Book: Hot Mess Express: A Humorous and Practical Survival Guide for Menopause

Author: Sally Friscea

Genre: Health & Wellness / Aging

Release Date: April 22, 2025

Discover Your Menopause Survival Kit: Laugh, Learn, and Thrive!

You may have involuntarily found yourself on the Hot Mess Express, but you can take control of your journey and enjoy the ride. Or at least, survive the roller-coaster known as menopause with laughter. Unlike our grandmothers and moms, who never talked about this natural process, Sally takes us on a dive into the humorous yet practical journey of menopause.

Learn about symptoms, treatments, and self-care strategies—from diet and exercise to beauty tips—all enriched with real-life stories that inform and entertain. Empower yourself to discuss health concerns confidently—Is hormone replacement therapy right for me? Would it tame these mood swings? And, why is it so hot in here? Whether you’re in your forties or approaching sixty or beyond, this comprehensive guide offers relief and clarity in navigating the ups and downs of menopause. Embrace The Change with a smile and practical solutions that make a difference—from head to toe.

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts:

Infused with humor and good advice, author Friscea gives us her honest to goodness story of her struggles with all the things that accompany menopause. It felt a lot like sitting down with a good friend and just talking things out. I appreciated the straightforwardness of the book and the author's humor that helped lighten up the sometimes ridiculousness of being a woman. Reminding us that this too shall pass.

This is by no means a doctor's opinion, just one woman's journey as she walked this stage of life and all the joys and trials it brought. This is a very informational book that I will be keeping on my shelf to use as a guide and some help, even to know what to ask my doctor. Thank you for writing this helpful and humorous guidebook.

I was provided a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review, and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author

Sally Friscea writes with humor to give hope to the longing heart. As a former member of the US Army, she found herself on an ISIS kill list but is now trying to live a quieter life after marrying for the first time at the age of fifty.

She weaves hope and humor into nearly every story. She is a multi-genre and award-winning writer. She has completed two children’s picture books and an adult murder-suspense novel based around the Kennedy Space Center awaiting publication. She also enjoys shorter works of fiction and articles.

Currently, Sally is working on subsequent novels for the murder-suspense series, a speculative dystopian novel about the aftermath of a second civil war, and other projects that reflect her diverse background.

She’s the Social Director of the Florida Christian Writers Conference and the president of Word Weavers International’s Brevard Chapter. When she’s not bookkeeping, budget counseling, or writing, Sally enjoys spending time with family and friends, scrapbooking, and doing crafts, some of which she sells on Etsy.

More from Sally

I didn’t know it was hot flashes for the first five years. I thought the air-conditioning was broken everywhere I went, because it was. At my house in Florida, my bedroom at the end of the line sizzled. At the office, the unit that fed my room was down; I relied on the trickle of AC from the main room. And my car fritzed often enough, so I didn’t notice it was hot flashes until a friend’s husband mentioned her “crazy pills” at their house one night. She explained they were for hormones and how awful she’d been before taking them.

When she mentioned hot flashes, the light bulb went off. My mother never said anything about suffering from menopause, and the only person I’d ever known to talk about any of it used to break out an oriental fan when the flashes happened, but she was in her fifties, therefore, I didn’t connect the dots in my early forties. All the older ladies at scrapbooking said my sleep issues were menopause, but again, I was too young for that. Then I learned it’s happening about a decade earlier than in previous generations.

When I complained to a friend at the Florida Christian Writers Conference about my perimenopausal symptoms and my great ignorance, she told me I should write a book and put all my humor into it. I spent the next few months taking notes and decided that I indeed had enough material for a book. My dystopian book in progress got pushed aside, and I started down the rabbit hole of finding answers for myself and compiling a useful tool for others walking blindly on the path of menopause.

I found some existing books using humorous personal stories and others addressing symptoms by using medical speak, but nothing with both, so I married the two and tried to dumb it down in a way that even I would understand. I threw in the humor to make the reader know they are not alone. I addressed those pesky symptoms using pharmaceutical, holistic, and over-the-counter treatments where available to appease all the ladies.

As I wrote the book, I kept finding that how we live our forties determines our fifties, our fifties determine our sixties, and so on, subsequently addressing food and other obstacles to longevity. I wrote this book because most women don’t want to talk about this topic, and most doctors aren’t trained in the field of aging women.

I found that even women who don’t suffer greatly will still submit to the effects down the road with osteoporosis and heart disease, because of the diminishing hormones. I attempted to cast as wide a net as possible by writing it in a way to entertain as well as inform so the reader can advocate for herself with her doctors and learn how to avoid spiraling out of physical independence in the latter years. This book is the sugar coating on a hard topic not being talked about enough. I wrote it so you won’t have to talk about it outside your physician’s office.