Quilt on Fire: Friendship, Dating, Sex and Love

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For some women, the menopause is no more than passing turbulence on a long-distance flight. For others it is a major challenge. What is most positive about this transition? Despite the engaging writing style, I found this book a bit of a hard slog. Possibly because it was so far away from my experience of the menopause that it seemed like a fairy tale, something I couldn’t relate to at all.

A superb chronicle of midlife and the chaos of the perimenopause. Candid, humorous, insightful, deeply empathetic, inspiring and utterly necessary i PaperChristie Watson is fierce, funny and endearingly frank in her fantastic new memoir Jacqueline Wilson My guest today is Trixi Symonds, an author and softie designer who has been teaching sewing to children for over 30 years. She is the founder of Sew Your Own Softie on Etsy Australia, and the Global Kids Sewing Party every year in March to inspire adults around the world to sew with kids in their lives. Acceptance – a soft word but hard fought for. It’s the ultimate goal – the path to contentment and to being happy in your own skin. What these two women have come together to create in Made TV is a streaming network to gather creators and lift them up to share their creations, crafts, and work with a wider audience.

This is the story of her journey through midlife: of the joy of letting go and the pain of the morning after, of the unstoppable power of female friendship and the struggle to raise teenagers as a single parent. It lays bare the exhilaration, agony, wonder and fears of being a middle-aged woman with a wild heart, a changing body and a new set of challenges. And as her world takes on a different shape, there's something else she starts to feel: the hot flush of possibility...

Grab a Cup of Tea and Listen in to the Quilter on Fire Podcast

How does Christie Watson do it? No-one depicts with greater wisdom and tenderness the unruly, bewildering, mercurial gorgeousness of the human body. I adored this book Rachel Clarke, author of DEAR LIFE Quilt on Fire] stood out for its honesty and humour... A must-read for any woman in midlife Good Housekeeping, 'This month's 10 books to read right now' A funny, frank and informative blend of personal writing, research and conversations with friends... [Watson's] descriptions of her failing body are vivid and unflinching... Passages are moving, humbling and written with beautiful detail Marianne Power, The Times

Raw and real and laugh-out-loud funny. So timely... Quilt on Fire is like a supportive friend reaching out a hand, saying it will be okay Karen Angelico, author of EVERYTHING WE ARE This novel follows the 40 something author as she navigates her mid life and the start of perimenopause. The novel highlights how she was unaware of the many changes that happen to women during this age and how it impacted many areas of her life. She also discusses her thoughts on love and relationships both when she was younger and also when she hit midlife. Generous notes from the heat of female experience. Read it with a sigh of relief and gratitude Diana Evans, author of ORDINARY PEOPLE A] sharp, hilarious, gritty perimenopause memoir - a book for any woman drowning in the uncharted seas of midlife Daily Telegraph, *Summer Reads of 2022* I adore Christie Watson. Quilt on Fire is full of her trademark candour, compassion and humour' Elizabeth Day

Retailers:

I first heard about Christie Watson from a nurse friend, who pressed me to read her books; somehow I never got round to it and life moved on. When I heard about this one, about midlife (the very stage I’m at!) and peri menopause, I treated myself. Although slightly older than the author, I was pretty sure that there would be stuff I could relate to. An] insightful and outspoken exploration of middle age and the perimenopause Kate Kellaway, Observer Literary, gritty, joyful and very, very funny, reading Quilt on Fire is like hanging out with a best friend, one who knows you so well that she can see inside your soul... Virgina Woolf-sharp Stacey Duguid, Sunday Telegraph Personally I had never heard of the perimenopause but it seems to be an extended version of the menopause. Having read this book I now know quite a lot about it and the symptoms which accompany it. The jaunty writing style makes this book easy to read and it is very frank and candid. At times Christie is so brutally honest that I felt quite uncomfortable reading it and couldn’t imagine that her children would be happy with the level of exposure which she revealed about her personal life.

Whilst the beginning isn’t particularly happy or uplifting, it is informative and insightful about the impact hormones and midlife can have on women. It sets the stage. As the story develops and the author opens up, with the help of her therapist, we see a much more content and accepting person. I wish I'd had such a laugh-out-loud, haunting and beautifully crafted manual to help navigate my own menopause. The stories filled me with laughter and tears... Many many women will be eternally grateful Dreda Say Mitchell I loved it... Hilarious and necessary. Should be required reading for anyone over forty! Francesca SegalI’d always assumed menopause was about hot flashes and rage but, for me, these were not the most extreme symptoms. I had the terrifying feeling I’d lost my mind completely. I didn’t know what was happening, I felt I was having a catastrophic breakdown. Not only could I not remember details, I couldn’t remember who I was. It felt like I’d left my body and skin and gone somewhere else. I absolutely did not believe for a second that this could be anything to do with hormones. But as soon as I started HRT, I felt so much better. It worked within 24 hours – I was amazed. Funny, honest, liberating and wise - Christie Watson has written the equivalent of a laugh-until-you-cry conversation with a best friend Jess Kidd, author of THINGS IN JARS She has three wonderful books under her belt, including one that she coauthored with one of my past podcast guests, Deborah Fisher. Remember her adorable ceramics? That was Episode # 65. I heard Watson speak at the Cambridge Literary Festival and I have a dreadful weakness for buying author’s books at literary events. I think that some women (probably ones who are 40-47) will find this book useful - just as a good, open talk with a friend is useful - but I’m past the stage where I felt like it had anything to offer me. I personally didn’t find it funny, although I’m sure that other women will do. It was far too anecdotal and not nearly factual enough although she does make an attempt to intersperse her MANY personal anecdotes with some psychological and occasionally medical information about this volatile period in a women’s life. An honest conversation about Christie Watson's journey through midlife and how to navigate new challenges of a changing body.