May 6th, 2026Sarah Gray: It’s Not You, It’s Perimenopause
Sarah Gray is the next author for Paradise Bookshop’s Community Book Launch series with her book, It’s Not You, It’s Perimenopause. The event is on Thursday, May 21 from 5pm to 6pm at the Daylesford book store. Sarah chatted to Donna Kelly.
Donna: How did you get into this area?
Sarah: I am a pharmacist and nutritionist, and also a certified menopause practitioner. I moved to Daylesford in September last year, but before that we were in inner Melbourne and I’ve had an online clinic for women for nearly 10 years. And just naturally women with perimenopause and menopause have been sent to me by local practitioners mainly because they’re a similar age to myself, I think. You sort of tend to attract people that are like you.
Donna: Why the book?
Sarah: I’ve developed a bit of a system that really helped hundreds of women get through this; really understanding that as well. The full holistic view. And through that, all my patients were saying, I was always booked out and how could I get that information to more people? That’s where the idea of the book came about so I could really clear up some of that confusion on social media and everywhere these days with some science-based info that women could actually trust.
Donna: How did you choose this particular field?
Sarah: It found its way to me. I was a practicing pharmacist in pharmacies and then I studied nutrition when I developed my own personal food intolerances. I started the clinic mainly because it can be hard when you’re first starting out as a nutritionist. And then a local gym near where I used to live was sending all these clients to me. I just noticed it’s all women aged between 35 and 55. They all want to lose weight – it’s all midlife weight gain. And they had similar symptoms – brain fog, no energy, night sweats…I thought it has to be menopause transition.
Donna: What was the next step?
Sarah: I studied that more because I felt like I couldn’t help them as much as I wanted to. And then I worked out that there was this cluster of hormonal symptoms. And the more I’d tell people I did the work, the more doctors would refer and more people that would come to me for help. I think as an individual, you can help only so many people. But then with a book, you can help so many more with an affordable resource. I really wanted to be able to do that. It gives you something to use or to lean on while you’re waiting to get in with somebody as well. And if you scroll social media, you’ll always see misinformation. It gives you a source of truth. There are also a lot of women spending money they don’t need to on services and online programs – they’re calling it meno-washing, a real money grabber.
Donna: Do men understand menopause now?
Sarah. No. Women don’t even really yet. But you know what? Men are so receptive to the book. I think there’s a lot of men who don’t know what to do when their partner is going through or a loved one is going through this. And a lot of them buy the book just to learn more about it. Some brave men buy it as a gift. A lot of workplaces are interested in it at the moment too because women often drop out of the workforce at this time, with the sandwich generation as well. It’s a difficult time.
Donna: You must enjoy your work.
Sarah: I do, it’s really good. It can be frustrating because there’s lots of shortages and it’s hard to get access to care. But then when you really help somebody and they send you a note saying they feel better, it’s fantastic.
Donna: Why the move to the Central Highlands?
Sarah: We lived on a very busy main road in inner Melbourne near Yarraville. And we were living in pollution and diesel and were seeking a bit of a change. We’ve always loved this region and it’s also it’s more tied to my love for nutrition and health and I wanted to grow all my own veggies, have my own bees, which I’ll eventually get and have lambs and have chickens and do whatever I can. We want to build a life here, a fuller life, healthier living, nice community. It ticked all the boxes for us.
Donna: What can we expect for the launch?
Sarah: I’m going to be there for signing books and Devon (Paradise Book owner) is going to do a little interview. And I’m going to have some healthy treats from the book that I’m going to bake up. And then I haven’t told Devon this but I’m going to do a bit of a door prize as well.
Link: www.thenutritionpharmacist.com
