Marian Van Eyk McCain is a retired psychotherapist, tutor, health educator and workshop leader. She has published articles on many subjects, from alternative technology to wellness. Her 1991 Transformation through Menopause (NY, Bergin & Garvey) was the first book to define menopause as a spiritual adventure and to provide trail notes for the journey.
Her second book, Elderwoman: Reap the wisdom, feel the power, embrace the joy (Scotland, Findhorn Press, 2002), describing the so-called "third age" as womanhood's crowning phase, invites us to reclaim our power, our ancient connectedness with Nature, and our rightful place as "wise elders."
(OTHER EXPERTS PLEASE NOTE: Please do not bother 'friending' Marian if there is any ageist language on your expert page, e.g. phrases like 'anti-aging' or 'stay youthful'. On principle, she will not link to anyone who uses ageist language. She is all about celebrating aging, not denying it.)
Marian has also published a book on simple living and sustainability entitled
The Lilypad List: 7 steps to the simple life (Findhorn Press, 2004).
In 2009, she published her first novel, The Bird Menders (Booklocker, 2009)
In April 2010 she edited an anthology of writings on green spirituality entitled 'GreenSpirit: Path to a New Consciousness' (O Books, 2010).
Marian is Co-Editor of 'The GreenSpirit Journal' and a columnist for 'Crone' magazine . She edits several newsletters, including the free, quarterly 'Elderwoman Newsletter'*, manages a bunch of websites and is the creator of “Elderwomanspace” - an invitation-only social networking site especially for elderwomen.Oh and she blogs. Not every day, but just when she feels like it. Because now, in her seventies, she doesn’t live by other people’s rules any more, but by her own. Her blog is called (unsurprisingly) ‘Elderwomanblog.’She and her partner grow a lot of their own fruit and vegetables in their tiny cottage garden (organically, of course). And she walks – usually three or four miles every day – around the beautiful countryside that surrounds her home in the south-west of England.
She enjoys travelling, especially to see her children and grandchildren who are geographically scattered around the USA, though it is difficult to do as much of that as she would like to and still keep her eco-footprint as low as she believes it should be.
Marian ran ‘wellness’ groups for women for many years. She has been a vegetarian since 1961 and remains passionate about the importance – both to the individual and the planet – of a simple, natural, healthy lifestyle.
* Visit Marian's Elderwoman website to sign up for her newsletter and she will also give you a link to all the back copies.
The website has an excellent page of links and resources for elderwomen. If you have a resource that is geared specifically to women of menopause age or beyond (one which is free of all 'ageist' attitudes/language and celebrates old age) and you are interested in swapping links, let Marian know.