The author of the book Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey Into Middle Age says menopause should be a time to celebrate—not hibernate.

On the first leg of her “I’m still Hot…It just comes in Flashes now!” summer book tour, baby boomer expert, Beverly Mahone, told hundreds of women in North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., that they should take hot flashes in stride and work hard to improve their physical and mental health in order to survive the menopause years. “Complaining about what ails you isn’t going to accomplish anything but frustration,” says Ms. Mahone. “Instead, we must focus on the transition as another phase of our journey in life and celebrate the fact that we’ve come this far.”

According to Ms. Mahone, menopause has been treated as a taboo subject for too long by so-called experts of the past. In her book, she makes reference to another book, Feminine Fever, written in 1966 by Dr. Robert A. Wilson. He referred to women as having a “cow-like passivity and disinterest” and cited menopause as the reason many women took “refuge in alcohol, sleeping pills and sometimes even in suicide.” It’s that kind of expert opinion, Ms. Mahone argues, that probably forced many women to suffer in silence for fear of being ridiculed or labeled as crazy because of their hormonal imbalance.

Taking hot flashes and menopause out of the closest is what the 50-year-old baby boomer author says she is doing on her summer tour. She also stresses the importance of eating healthy and exercising. “I want women to know it’s a journey they don’t have to be ashamed of or intimidated by. We’re all in this together. We can get through it and we’ll come out looking fabulous!”

Ms. Mahone has delighted audiences with her wit and candor. The next leg of her summer book tour will take her back to Washington, D.C., and Maryland, with additional stops in Virginia and New York City. She has also appeared on several television and radio talk shows and been featured in the in the New York Times.

If you’d like to schedule Ms. Mahone for an interview or to speak to your group, please contact her directly at 301-356-6280 or email her at bmahone@nc.rr.com. For more information about her, visit her website at: http://www.thebabyboomerdiva.com