The phrase force-of-nature was created to describe this week’s guest. Egyptian-American journalist Mona Eltahawy has been fighting back and refusing to shut up for the best part of 50 years. She has been assaulted and detained in Tahir Square, banned from an Australian TV network, and has made it her business to be the scourge of the pale male, and stale everywhere. She is also a huge source of inspiration for women and girls the world over through her Feminist Giant newsletter.

In her new book - The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls, a fierce, fearless and utterly uninhibited manifesto and call to arms - she tackles head on all the things women are taught from an early age and encourages us to stick two fingers up to the lot of them. Mona doesn’t want equality - she wants to set us free. She wants us to be the star of our own lives. She wants us to sin!

Mona is unashamedly political as she talks anger, perimenopause, ambition, ageing disgracefully, going grey and why she believes it’s up to us to decide how we want to emerge on the other side of menopause.

You can buy all the books mentioned in this podcast at Bookshop.org, including the book that accompanies this podcast, The Shift: how I lost and found myself after 40 - and you can too by Sam Baker and The Seven Necessary Sins For Women And Girls by Mona Eltahawy.

The Shift (on life after 40) with Sam Baker is created and hosted by Sam Baker and edited by Emily Sandford. I'd love to hear what you think - please rate and review, or let me know on twitter @sambaker or instagram @theothersambaker.

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