The Story Behind Second Spring. For the last 4-5 years, I have been going through something that a huge percentage of women experience at some point in their lives: perimenopause and menopause.

At times, it has been soul-destroying and one of the most difficult and challenging periods of my life.

There were days when allI wanted to do was lock myself away. Physically and emotionally, was at rock bottom. But most days, I had to put the mask on, pretend I was fine, and just get on with it. Inside, I felt lonely, afraid, frustrated, angry, and overwhelmed by a whole range of emotions.

By the time I went to my GP, I actually said, "l feel like the life is being sucked out of me." I felt broken.

Thankfully, my GP was incredibly supportive and a strong advocate for women going through menopause. But not everyone is offered the same care or understanding. While the medical support was there, I still felt a huge lack of emotional support.

I began searching for inspiration-books, podcasts, websites-anything menopause-related. I was tired of moaning, tired of feeling the way I did, and I started internalising everything, which only made things worse.

I knew there was very little help for women of a"certain age" - no real network or community, nowhere to go to talk and be with people who suffer with the same problems.