My Perimenopause Diaries: A letter to the women
Perimenopause feels, to me, like life giving us one more chance to get our s**t together; it's a serious and profound invitation to love and respect ourselves once and for all. No pretending. No pushing. No comparing... but coming home to our bodies, our truth, and our hearts.
Dear Woman,
This week, instead of a diary entry, I’m sharing a letter… one that came straight from my heart and found a place in my chapter of the book Menopause: Wise Women Don’t Whisper.
The book has 49 other beautiful letters written by women, for women. Mine goes like this…
“Hey… how are you?
Shall we close our eyes? Take as much time as you need to…
This journey of Perimenopause is so darn personal, don’t you think?
I sit in ceremony with sacred plants, and when you are preparing for ceremony, you hear all sorts of stories from others… But here’s the thing, until you commune with the plant yourself, you will never truly know the insights, healing, and wisdom it has for you.
Perimenopause is the same.
Do you know what it feels like to me sometimes? As if life is giving us another opportunity to get our shit together.
Have I got it all figured out? No, I haven’t… but I have the gist of it and I trust. I trust that this peri business is the prelude of something magnificent… And yes, it’s also demanding the letting go of old ways of doing and being.
I believe this phase is preparing us for our final, most potent rite of passage. I also believe that every stage of our womanhood holds the medicine we most need.
So… what’s yours? Maybe it’s the medicine of allowance, of acceptance, of pausing. I don’t know… but what I do know is that this phase is our opportunity to love and respect ourselves once and for all.
So, please sister… come back to your body. No more comparing. No more pretending. No more pushing.
Let’s do this for ourselves, first and foremost, knowing the ripple effect of this work is immense as It touches everyone and everything.
Yes, go to the doctors, the naturopaths, and the nutritionists… they are all important companions on this journey, but don’t forget the heart.
Question, cry and retreat, then dance, sing, and laugh. This is a reclamation of our very own love story, so let’s walk it with faith and trust, with love and devotion, with care and patience.
Shall we?”
Lara 🌹
A loving note: I’m sharing my lived experience as a woman who menstruates, knowing that not all women do, and not everyone who menstruates identifies as a woman. This is not advice or a recommendation. If something here inspires you, please research, honour your intuition, check local laws, and seek qualified professional support. Any brands I mention are simply personal favourites; I’m not paid, gifted or affiliated. If that ever changes, I’ll label it clearly. 🧡
Coach Lara Khalaf
The Portal of She | Evolving Feminine Leadership
“She remembered who she was, and the game changed.” This Lalah Delia quote captures the essence of my work. After over two decades in senior leadership roles across corporate, private, and public sectors, I stepped away to found The Portal of She Consulting, a space devoted to supporting women in organisations through leadership development (with a focus on women navigating perimenopause), 1:1 containers, corporate training, and empowerment circles. I’m also a mystic; my path with traditional plant practices and herbalism has deepened my connection to the feminine and to life’s great mystery. Currently moving through the wild and wise portal of perimenopause, I am delighted to be a contributing author to the #1 bestselling book: Menopause-Wise Women Don’t Whisper. Beyond work, I am nourished by nature, writing, poetry, cacao, street art, Mother Mary, and the love of my animals. I am based between the UK and Spain. To close, I would like to say that may my words awaken something beautiful within you and may you remember. With love.
