Cynthia Gorney tells an intriguing story. It's her story of the ups and downs that came with hormone replacement therapy ... then without it ... then with it.

She talks honestly about her struggles before, during and after menopause. The uncertainty and worries that increased as hormone replacement therapy was first seen as savior, then scourge, then ...

Says Cynthia, "I started taking estrogen because I was under the impression that I was going crazy, which turns out to be not as unusual a reaction to midlife hormonal upheaval as I thought."

It isn't easy being a woman in midlife with choices to make. The good choices seem to keep changing on us. It's really helpful to read other women's stories, to know we're not alone with some of the crazy stuff we are dealing with.

Cynthia Gorney is a writer who also teaches at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/magazine/18estrogen-t.html?partner=rss&emc=rss