How Dr. Alexis Dunne & Menopawsy Became Midlife's Newest Duo

Four women, one group chat, and a wildly fun publishing adventure!

Somewhere between hot flashes, burnout, parenting, careers, overstimulation, and trying to remember why we walked into the kitchen, one menopause doctor had a wild idea: What if menopause was explained through the emotional journey of a chaotic cat?

And somehow… four midlife women (including me) actually got the thing done.

What started as a ridiculous conversation turned into a hardcover book, IF YOU GIVE A CAT A HOT FLASH, featuring Menopawsy: an overheated, exhausted cat who quickly became the unofficial midlife mascot none of us realized we desperately needed until she arrived.

Dr. Alexis Dunne wrote it alongside her nurse, Anna Garcia. Carrie Trimm Drew brought Menopawsy to life with every illustration, designed the website, built the online store, created the merch, and continues to be the reason all of our wild ideas become amazingly beautiful and very real things.

The response has been overwhelming!

So I wanted to ask Dr. Dunne a few questions about the accidental rise of Menopawsy, why women seem desperate for humor right now, and what happens when midlife women stop overthinking and just make the damn thing.

1. At what point did you realize this wasn’t just a funny little cat book anymore?

Alexis: I started sharing the idea with other midlife women and suddenly everyone had thoughts, stories, jokes, and ideas to add. There was something really fun about taking a story we once read to our kids and reimagining it through the completely chaotic lens of our own midlife realities.

2. Why do you think women seem to be craving humor right now?

Alexis: The science can be overwhelming for midlife women. There are so many contrary opinions out there that it can be hard to know who is right and who is trying to make money off of you. But we know the symptoms we are feeling are common, and laughing and commiserating about them helps us feel less alone.

3. Did you expect Menopawsy to become such an unexpected mascot for women?

Alexis: I hoped she would! She is every one of us. She raised her kids and spent years taking care of everyone else, and now she’s in the middle of trying to figure out her own midlife chaos. The hormones, the exhaustion, the brain fog, the “who even am I now?” moments. She’s finally starting to ask herself what she needs instead of only focusing on what everyone else needs from her.

4. What was it like watching us four women (and our editor Brad Drew) somehow pull a real hardcover book?

Alexis: It was amazing! I love our group and we all get so excited with every new idea. We had the best time brainstorming, laughing, building the story together, and figuring out what the finished product could become. There was something really fun about a group of midlife women just creating something joyful together without overthinking every little thing.

5. What do you think women are actually searching for underneath all the menopause content flooding our socials right now?

Alexis: We are searching for a way back to ourselves. We haven’t really been there for a while. First we were teenagers trying to figure out who we were, then we were building careers, marriages, families, and taking care of everyone else. And now we’ve reached this point where so many women are asking themselves, “Okay… what’s next for me?”

Bonus Question: What officially qualifies a woman as being “in her Menopawsy era”?

Alexis: She has realized that what she used to put stock in doesn’t necessarily work anymore. She has figured out her worth and won’t let anyone strip her of it. She has stopped people-pleasing. She does what she wants (most of the time). We can still be partners, mothers, professionals and have our own lives too.

IF YOU GIVE A CAT A HOT FLASH is available now and makes a dangerously good gift for any woman currently trying to survive midlife with a mix of caffeine, rage walks, car cries, lip gloss, and emotional support silence.

And yes… Menopawsy attends a book club in the story where there’s a little nod to my own book, REAL GIRLS GUIDE TO MIDLIFE because our literary universe must also now include hot mess cats.

Excerpt from If You Give a Cat A Hot Flash

Buy Alexis’s book if you need a laugh. Buy mine if you want the raw, unfiltered reality sitting underneath why we’re all laughing so hard in the first place.

Like a fine wine and an amazing cheese, they pair beautifully together.

#RealGirlsGuidetoMidlife #IfYouGiveACatAHotFlash #Menopawsy #Meow

We’ve earned every wrinkle. Might as well make more laugh lines together.
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And if you’ve read the book and loved it, a quick review on Amazon helps keep it moving.

Illustrations by Carrie Trimm Drew