Menopause, often seen as a villain to the female aging body, gets hero status in a comic book written by Whoopi Goldberg, aptly named “The Change.”
On Tuesday’s episode of “The View,” Goldberg announced to her co-anchors that when she began “the change” 25 years ago, she crafted a superhero character who gained power through embracing menopause.
“I’ve always loved comic books since I was a little kid. But none of the comic books seemed to speak to me, so I wrote my own,” she said.
“The Change,” out now where books are sold, follows the story of Isabel Frost, a Black woman who, after spending life as a wife, a mother, and a grandmother, finds new strength in aging.
“It’s about a woman who embraces the superpowers that she gains through menopause,” Goldberg explained.
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The TV host also explained how she came up with the concept for Isabel’s physical appearance, which slightly resembles Goldberg herself.
“So many superheroes have wonderful chests and magnificent bodies,” Goldberg said. “She does not. She looks like a regular person…she’s put on weight, and she’s funny.”
While discussing the book on “The View” Goldberg noted why she decided that now, after 25 years, was the right time to release Isabel’s story to the world.
“I wanted to play her,” she admitted. “I wrote her so I would have a superhero, but I aged out.”
She continued, “So instead of me getting all depressed and stuff, I think all of you in the audience should have a copy of this.”
“The Change,” co-written with screenwriter Jaime Paglia and illustrated by Sunkanmi Akinboye, is Goldberg’s second release this year. In May, she released “Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me,” a memoir that illustrated the closely bonded relationship she had with her late mother and late brother and examined her grief after their deaths.
“Not everybody gets to walk this earth with folks who let you be exactly who you are and who give you the confidence to become exactly who you want to be. So, I thought I’d share mine with you,” she wrote in the memoir.
