I'm Karen — and I Wrote the Book I Couldn't Find.
I've spent my whole life in health and wellness.
And perimenopause still blindsided me. This is the story of how that happened — and what I built so it wouldn't have to happen to you.
Health Was Never a Side Interest.
It Was the Whole Story.
I've been in health and wellness for as long as I can remember.
In high school, I led a province-wide nutrition initiative that reached public schools across Ontario. I went on to earn a Statement of Accomplishment in Nutrition, Health & Lifestyle from Vanderbilt University (via Coursera). I became a certified Pilates instructor — both mat and reformer. I trained as a Fast Like a Girl Certified Coach under Dr. Mindy Pelz.
I'm telling you all of this for one reason.
If anyone should have been prepared for perimenopause, it was me.
I wasn't.
Perimenopause Hit in My 40s, and I Was Stunned by How Little Was Out There.
I've always been proactive about my health. Even before I turned 40, I was reading books like Suzanne Somers' Sexy Over 40. I thought I was ahead of it.
Then the symptoms started. The brain fog. The mood swings. The feeling that my body had quietly stopped speaking the same language it had spoken to me my whole life.
I went looking for answers. What I found felt either too clinical or too overwhelming. I didn't need a textbook. I needed real conversations, real stories, and real solutions.
So I started talking to my girlfriends. And I realized I wasn't alone — not even a little. Smart, capable, accomplished women everywhere were quietly losing their footing and not telling anyone, because nobody had ever taught us how to talk about this.
I Sat on the Idea for a Long Time. Then in September 2024, I Stopped Sitting.
Maybe I wasn't ready. Maybe the book needed more time. Whatever it was, the idea sat with me for years.
Then in September 2024, something shifted. It wasn't a lightning bolt. It was a deep, steady urge — a responsibility. I knew I had to put this guide into the world.
Because women navigating life's changes turn to their girlfriends. We lean on each other. We always have.
So that's exactly what I wrote.
It's written with humor, heart, and science — but not too much science, because I didn't want you to get bored. It's for the woman who feels like she's losing her mind, the one who doesn't know how to talk to her doctor, and the one who just needs to know she's not alone.
I'm not a doctor. The book has been fact-checked by medical professionals — but more importantly, it comes from a place of service and deep understanding. We talk about poop, hormones, sex, mood swings, and all the things no one warned us about. And we do it in a way that feels empowering, supportive, and real.
The book was the beginning. The work has grown from there.
I'm a menopause educator, author, and speaker. I help high-performing women in perimenopause and menopause work with their hormones instead of against them — so they can lead their careers, their families, and their lives with their edge intact.
The book. I'm Not Crazy, You're Not Crazy, It's Menopause: A Girlfriend's Guide to Survive. The book I needed and couldn't find. Available on Amazon and everywhere books are sold.
Get The Book.
The CLEAN Method™. A hybrid program — on-demand lessons paired with live group calls — built on everything I learned from my own perimenopause and the women I've been in conversation with ever since. It's for the woman who's ready to learn how her body actually works.
Learn about the CLEAN Method.
The speaking work. Keynotes, workshops, and corporate trainings on menopause as a leadership advantage — not a setback. I work with companies that are serious about retaining and elevating their high-performing women through midlife.
Book Karen to speak.
The Credentials, For the Record.
I'm not an MD. I won't write you a prescription, and I'll tell you straight when something is outside my scope.
What I am:
- Author of I'm Not Crazy, You're Not Crazy, It's Menopause: A Girlfriend's Guide to Survive
- Co-author of Leadership: It's Not Just for Leaders
- Statement of Accomplishment in Nutrition, Health & Lifestyle, Vanderbilt University (via Coursera)
- Certified Pilates Instructor (mat and reformer)
- Fast Like a Girl Certified Coach (trained under Dr. Mindy Pelz)
- Nutrition Advisory Training and Certification from Sanoviv Medical Institute
- Host of the Not Crazy, Just Menopause podcast
- 40+ years across real estate, leadership, and wellness
- Featured in LA Weekly, US Times Now, Mentors Collective, Femme Fortune, and Goss Magazine
I'm an educator. My job is to teach you how your body works in this phase so you can make better decisions, ask better questions of your doctor, and stop feeling like a stranger in your own life.
A Few Things I Believe, In Case You're Wondering.
Menopause is not forever.
It's temporary. It's different for everyone. And it's something we can navigate together.
Your symptoms are real.
If you've been told it's just stress, just aging, or just in your head — you've been failed. Not by one bad doctor, but by an entire system that decided women's midlife wasn't worth studying.
You can't out-discipline a hormone shift.
I know this because I tried. The strategies that built your career — push harder, sleep less, ignore the body — are the exact strategies that make perimenopause unbearable. There is a different way.
This isn't just about menopause.
It's about sisterhood, self-care, and stepping into the next phase of life with confidence.
If This Sounds Like You, Let's Talk.
If you're in perimenopause,
and you want to learn how to work with your hormones instead of against them:
Book a free CLEAN Method discovery call.
If you're an event organizer,
HR Leader, or executive who wants to bring this work into your organization:
Book Karen to speak.
Not ready for either yet?
grab the free guide: Boss Up & Flow: The No-BS Hormone Guide for Work & Life
Grab the Guide.
