Christie Watson on menopause, mischief and midlife - THE SHIFT REVISITED

About this episode

Christie Watson discusses her experiences with perimenopause and midlife challenges in a candid conversation with Sam Baker.

This episode of The Shift first aired in June 2022. I’ve lost count of the number of women I’ve spoken to who were taken totally by surprise by perimenopause but, to date, none of them actually had medical training. Todays guest changes all that. Before she was an award winning writer, Christie watson was a nurse. She spent 20 years on children’s intensive care before her debut won the Costa first novel award and altered the trajectory of her life. Since then Christie has written two bestselling nursing memoirs, including the wonderful The Language of Kindness, and a second novel. Then, aged 42, perimenopause totally floored her. A single mum of two teenagers, she suddenly found herself a “blubbering snot crying wreck” in Sainsburys car park - a stranger, inside and out. Sound familiar?! I met Christie to talk about her memoir about that experience, Quilt On Fire, in a no-man’s land opposite the US embassy. As you do. We discussed being blindsided by menopause, grey pubic hairs, biblical bleeding, and the impact of unresolved trauma. Plus being single in midlife and braving the dating shark tank, her own personal menopause club (lucky woman), having a vulva the size of Brazil…

People in this episode

Host: Sam Baker

Guest: Christie Watson

Topics covered

• menopause
• midlife
• personal experiences
• health
• women's issues
• memoir

Keywords

• perimenopause
• midlife
• memoir
• women's health
• personal stories
• dating
• trauma

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Quilt On Fire, The Language of Kindness

More episodes of The Shift with Sam Baker

• Liz Earle: 'Much of what we've been told about ageing as women is wrong' · June 9, 2026 · 1h 2m
• Dr Kate Lister: Most women could benefit from 'pleasure education' · June 2, 2026 · 1h 3m
• Maria Semple knows all the dirty little secrets of midlife! · May 26, 2026 · 1h 9m
• Melissa Auf der Maur on surviving the 90s and her big midlife resurrection · May 19, 2026 · 58 min
• Katriona O'Sullivan on women's bodies, hunger & why women shrink · May 12, 2026 · 1h 11m
• Siri Hustvedt on living on when the love of your life dies · May 5, 2026 · 1h 3m