About the Book
Book: Hot Mess Express: A Humorous and Practical Survival Guide for Menopause
Author: Sally Friscea
Genre: Health & Wellness / Aging
Release Date: April 22, 2025
Discover Your Menopause Survival Kit: Laugh, Learn, and Thrive!
You may have involuntarily found yourself on the Hot Mess Express, but you can take control of your journey and enjoy the ride. Or at least, survive the roller-coaster known as menopause with laughter. Unlike our grandmothers and moms, who never talked about this natural process, Sally takes us on a dive into the humorous yet practical journey of menopause.
Learn about symptoms, treatments, and self-care strategies—from diet and exercise to beauty tips—all enriched with real-life stories that inform and entertain. Empower yourself to discuss health concerns confidently—Is hormone replacement therapy right for me? Would it tame these mood swings? And, why is it so hot in here? Whether you’re in your forties or approaching sixty or beyond, this comprehensive guide offers relief and clarity in navigating the ups and downs of menopause. Embrace The Change with a smile and practical solutions that make a difference—from head to toe.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Sally Friscea writes with humor to give hope to the longing heart. As a former member of the US Army, she found herself on an ISIS kill list but is now trying to live a quieter life after marrying for the first time at the age of fifty.
She weaves hope and humor into nearly every story. She is a multi-genre and award-winning writer. She has completed two children’s picture books and an adult murder-suspense novel based around the Kennedy Space Center awaiting publication. She also enjoys shorter works of fiction and articles.
Currently, Sally is working on subsequent novels for the murder-suspense series, a speculative dystopian novel about the aftermath of a second civil war, and other projects that reflect her diverse background.
She’s the Social Director of the Florida Christian Writers Conference and the president of Word Weavers International’s Brevard Chapter. When she’s not bookkeeping, budget counseling, or writing, Sally enjoys spending time with family and friends, scrapbooking, and doing crafts, some of which she sells on Etsy.
More from Sally
I didn’t know it was hot flashes for the first five years. I thought the air-conditioning was broken everywhere I went, because it was. At my house in Florida, my bedroom at the end of the line sizzled. At the office, the unit that fed my room was down; I relied on the trickle of AC from the main room. And my car fritzed often enough, so I didn’t notice it was hot flashes until a friend’s husband mentioned her “crazy pills” at their house one night. She explained they were for hormones and how awful she’d been before taking them.
When she mentioned hot flashes, the light bulb went off. My mother never said anything about suffering from menopause, and the only person I’d ever known to talk about any of it used to break out an oriental fan when the flashes happened, but she was in her fifties, therefore, I didn’t connect the dots in my early forties. All the older ladies at scrapbooking said my sleep issues were menopause, but again, I was too young for that. Then I learned it’s happening about a decade earlier than in previous generations.
When I complained to a friend at the Florida Christian Writers Conference about my perimenopausal symptoms and my great ignorance, she told me I should write a book and put all my humor into it. I spent the next few months taking notes and decided that I indeed had enough material for a book. My dystopian book in progress got pushed aside, and I started down the rabbit hole of finding answers for myself and compiling a useful tool for others walking blindly on the path of menopause.
I found some existing books using humorous personal stories and others addressing symptoms by using medical speak, but nothing with both, so I married the two and tried to dumb it down in a way that even I would understand. I threw in the humor to make the reader know they are not alone. I addressed those pesky symptoms using pharmaceutical, holistic, and over-the-counter treatments where available to appease all the ladies.
As I wrote the book, I kept finding that how we live our forties determines our fifties, our fifties determine our sixties, and so on, subsequently addressing food and other obstacles to longevity. I wrote this book because most women don’t want to talk about this topic, and most doctors aren’t trained in the field of aging women.
I found that even women who don’t suffer greatly will still submit to the effects down the road with osteoporosis and heart disease, because of the diminishing hormones. I attempted to cast as wide a net as possible by writing it in a way to entertain as well as inform so the reader can advocate for herself with her doctors and learn how to avoid spiraling out of physical independence in the latter years. This book is the sugar coating on a hard topic not being talked about enough. I wrote it so you won’t have to talk about it outside your physician’s office.
Interview with the Author
- Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Writing energizes me if it’s fiction. Usually, I write fiction where the mind runs freely—I can get lost in it for hours. But then the editing master comes to collect its toll. I love inventing characters by weaving together the traits of people I know into beloved characters, then getting them into trouble and forcing them to rescue themselves.
But if I’m writing nonfiction, the citations exhaust me. I tell humorous stories of my menopause journey in my book, Hot Mess Express. Retelling those situations is fun and exciting, but the pressure of getting the treatments right for those pesky symptoms is daunting. The process is exhausting. It’s a lot of pressure to stand firm and say this will work for you (and if not, try this…). I want to help women suffering from menopause. No one should have to brave the storm alone. I thought that if I had to do all the digging up of remedies for my journey, I should share that with others and let them benefit from all my hard work.
- How did writing this book grow you spiritually?
As I recounted all I had been through, which is more than most, I could see how God sustained me throughout this journey of menopause and in writing the book. From a Florida Christian Writers Conference friend suggesting it in the first place, to winning a contest with it, and getting an agent and publisher at just the right time. I learned to trust Him more as I pressed into Him, which was all I could do at the time. With doctors not being trained in medical schools or residency for menopause, I just kept hitting a wall everywhere I turned. Sometimes, I think I was able to go through most of this just so I could write the book as a lifeline to others like Esther, but with much less significance, “for such a time as this.”
- What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I enjoy doing things with my husband. We go for bike rides, take small road trips, hit the local arts & crafts fairs, game night with friends, and we (of course) watch movies and television shows. We especially like streaming the limited series shows, so we get in and out quickly and move on to the next thing. I think game night is my favorite. We get to meet an older couple from church for dinner, then head over to their neighborhood’s clubhouse for games, usually Mah Jongg or dominos. I love all the time spent in conversation.
- Share something your readers wouldn’t know about you.
I did write about it in the book, but the fact that I ended up on the 2016 ISIS Kill List is one of the more interesting things about me. A Brevard County detective, sworn in by the FBI, was tasked with informing me at the behest of journalists who said they’d let us know if the government didn’t. Motivation. The detective said they couldn’t be sure of what was hacked or where, but that ISIS had my name and current address. I have since married and moved.
I later heard the list comprised over 8,000 people from the US, Canada, and Australia, with over 600 residing in Florida. That’s a pretty small club. Most I hear of are prior military from decades ago or current law enforcement and federal workers. I imagine we are all prior military, and therefore, it was the Department of Defense or Veterans Administration that leaked our info.
My heightened awareness eventually faded into normal situational awareness. I suppose I’m safe until I start hearing of others on the list being murdered, then it’s back to heightened awareness. I had a friend ask how one gets off a kill list. I started telling her that I sent a letter requesting removal, but quickly realized she believed me, instead of assuming sarcasm, so I told her there is only one way off a kill list. She didn’t like that answer. Yeah, me neither.
- When did you start writing?
In 2006, I woke up from a dream with ideas for children’s books. I messed around with them for years until it happened again, this time with my murder suspense series. They played like movies in my mind, but I knew they were books. I always found it hard to sit and pay attention while reading. It took me until my early twenties to learn to enjoy reading. So, the dreams surprised me—shocked my mother and siblings, all voracious readers. I later found out that my old church used to host a Christian writers’ conference each year—I must have blocked it from my mind. I found someone at my current church who used to work at the conference, and she pointed me in that direction.
I made it to the Florida Christian Writers Conference (FCWC) in 2013—the first year Word Weavers International (WWI) took over the conference and hosted it at Lake Yale. I won three awards for my meager attempts at writing, but I purposed to hone my skills and haven’t missed one conference since. I learned a great deal sitting at the feet of those who had already published books. WWI, a Christian writer’s critique group, helped immensely, too. They help me produce much better products, including Hot Mess Express, my first published book.
Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, September 18
Inspired by Fiction, September 19
Simple Harvest Reads, September 20 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 21
Artistic Nobody, September 22 (Author Interview)
Where Crisis & Christ Collide, September 22
Texas Book-aholic, September 23
The Sacred Line, September 24
Guild Master, September 25 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 26
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 27
Fiction Book Lover, September 28 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, September 28
Pause for Tales, September 29
An Author’s Take, September 30
For the Love of Literature, October 1 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Sally is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card and a signed copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.