Menopause Wingman: The Emotional Handbook for Partners

The book that turns ‘I don’t know what to do’ into ‘I’ve got you.’

61% of women say menopause has damaged their relationship – and most couples don’t even realise that’s what’s happening.*

He didn’t stop loving her. He just didn’t know what to do. Afraid of saying the wrong thing, he went quiet. She felt alone, overwhelmed and unseen. What could have brought them closer began to pull them apart.

Menopause Wingman is written for that man.

This practical, no-nonsense, honest and occasionally humorous handbook helps partners move from confusion to confidence. You’ll understand what’s really happening, learn how to communicate without making things worse and discover simple ways to support her – and yourself – through the changes. Eleven chapters of real, practical tools... from understanding the biology in plain English, navigating mood and intimacy changes, to communication strategies that actually work. Your complete Menopause Roadmap – from confusion to confidence. Menopause doesn’t have to break a relationship. Handled well, it can strengthen it.

* Source: The Menopause Hub Annual Survey, 2023

READER REVIEWS
“Men want to help – they just don’t know how. Menopause Wingman gives them the tools, language, and confidence to become allies rather than bystanders. Honest, practical and deeply needed.”
~ Loretta Dignam, Founder of The Menopause Hub Forbes Top 50 Over 50, Global List 2025

“Michelle skillfully unlocks this highly challenging yet inevitable life experience. This book equips men with the mindset, empathy and resources to better handle and co-navigate this major life transition – and strengthen and deepen their relationships.”
~ Dr Matthew Cott, Chartered Counselling Psychologist



Michelle A. Hardwick is a therapist with 25+ years in private practice and a woman who spent a decade navigating menopause alongside her husband without ever truly considering what he was going through. That humbling realisation, combined with her professional expertise and the voices of men from different countries, made this book not just possible, but necessary.

Michelle A. Hardwick is a therapist and health practitioner with over 25 years in private practice and a woman who knows firsthand that menopause is never just one person's journey.The seed for this book was planted during a chance online encounter at a speed networking event. A man named Richard shared his story. He explained how desperately he had wished for support during his wife's menopause journey. Their relationship hadn't survived. He also spoke candidly about how the strain of that journey had affected them both, long before either of them truly understood what they were dealing with. It was Michelle's thunderbolt moment. Her ah-ha. Her "Oh. My. God!" realisation. In ten years of navigating her own menopause journey, through the losses, the grief, the pain and the change... she had never once stopped to consider what her husband was going through. His perspective. His losses. His experience of standing beside her through it all.That same call connected her with a publisher. The pieces fell into place with the kind of synchronicity that feels less like coincidence and more like inevitability. Together, they recognised a profound gap. The partners, spouses and loved ones deeply affected by menopause, but with nowhere to turn for guidance or understanding.What followed was a journey of its own. Michelle drew on her 25+ years of professional experience, her own decade navigating menopause alongside her husband John, the stories of her clients and their relationships and the honest, unfiltered survey responses of men from different countries - men who answered six questions about their experience with a raw honesty that will stop you in your tracks.The result is the guide she wishes had existed for couples like Richard's. And like hers. Because menopause is not a solojourney. It is a shared experience that touches entire families and relationships.Michelle lives in County Cork, Ireland, with her husband John and their beautiful rescue dog, Keela.