The most fun Perimenopausal fiction you'll read this year!

You need to read this book! Click the cover for purchase info.

I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of this book and it's easily one of the top books I've read this year.

Here's the synopsis:

Clementine Crane has a few things on her plate: She keeps the peace, picks up the slack, and always puts everyone else first. But when her first hot flash strikes, perimenopause sends her into a tailspin. Between a husband who can’t navigate a revolving door without her, three kids who treat her as their fixer, and a career stuck in neutral, Clementine begins to wonder: When is enough enough?

Overwhelmed and fed up, Clementine takes a stand—one small refusal at a time. She goes on strike, ditching obligations, setting boundaries, and venting her frustrations on social media. When her raw, hilarious, and unexpectedly poignant videos go viral, Clementine finds herself at the heart of a movement she never saw coming.

Clementine can’t stay on strike forever, but can she let a few things fall through the cracks—before she cracks again? Speaking to the emotional, and often invisible, labor that so many women bear, Clementine Crane finally asks: When does it become too much?

I LOVED the book and I'm excited that I got a chance to talk about Clementine with the wonderfully talented author, Kristin Bair.

Clementine’s life is changed forever when she experiences her first hot flash. Was there an

inciting incident like this that sparked the idea for this book?

Yep. I had my first all-consuming hot flash in the grocery store. One moment, I was picking out

Gala apples for my kids; the next, I was a human furnace. Sweat was soaking my hair and

clothing. I bolted to the ice cream aisle, yanked off my sweatshirt, and had to fight the urge to

strip off my t-shirt too.

At the same time, I was buried under the mental load of raising two kids—school forms, dance

equipment, music lessons, meals, appointments. That grocery store hot flash wasn’t just about

heat; it collided with the invisible weight I was already carrying. Out of that collision came the

question that drives CLEMENTINE CRANE PREFERS NOT TO: what happens when a woman hits

that wall and decides she can’t—won’t—do it all anymore?

Perimenopause is recently getting attention both in non-fiction and fiction. Do you have any

favorite books tackling this wild time of life?

It is a wild time of life, and I’m so grateful it’s finally getting airtime and shelf space. When it

comes to favorites, I turn to voices more than single titles: Dr. Mary Claire Haver for straight-

talk, evidence-based medical guidance, and Tamsen Fadal for fierce, public storytelling that

makes women feel seen.

Do you write with music playing or do you need silence? Do you have a playlist for

Clementine?

I need absolute silence—ideally an empty house, upstairs and down. But with two kids, a

husband, two dogs, and my parents living with me, someone is always home.

Instead, I built Clementine Crane her own playlist. When I couldn’t write, I listened. Here it is.

“Hot Hot Hot” by Buster Poindexter & His Banshees of Blue

“Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keyes

“Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice

“Tokyo Calling” by Atarashii Gakko!

“You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore

“Shake It Out” by Florence + the Machine

“Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett

“Quiet” by MILCK

“Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush

“Respect” by Aretha Franklin

“Run the World (Girls) by Beyoncé

“Confident” by Demi Lovato

“I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy

“Fight Like a Girl” by Zolita

As a children’s librarian who is housing library fish (with permission) I must ask how you came

up with the fish stealing in the book?

Fish? What fish?

When did you first read Bartleby the Scrivener and when did you decide it had so much to

offer women?

When I first read Herman Melville’s story “Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street” in

grad school, I knew instantly that someday Bartleby’s haunting refrain—“I prefer not

to”—would make an appearance in something I wrote. What I didn’t know was how central it

would become, or how perfectly it would echo the lives of women. For women, “I prefer not

to” isn’t passive resistance—it’s radical clarity. It’s the refusal to keep carrying what was never

ours alone. It’s the power of saying no, finally, out loud.

Immediately after reading the book, I wanted to join a group like Clementine’s I Prefer Not To

movement. Do you have any plans to make Clementine’s movement into reality?

I love this question! In some ways, groups like the We Do Not Care club are already embodying

the spirit of Clementine Crane’s I Prefer Not To movement—women claiming space, naming

truths, and refusing to shrink.

And, yes, Clementine has nudged me into real-life action. I’ve begun offering I Prefer Not To

writing workshops for women in perimenopause and menopause—safe, fun, deeply accepting

spaces for our stories, complaints, lol moments, and rage.

For now, Clementine’s movement lives both on the page and in these circles. My hope is that

readers carry Clementine’s voice into their own communities, their own refusals, their own

brave I prefer not to’s.

While this book is laugh out loud funny, it’s also emotionally poignant. It perfectly captures

the ups and downs of perimenopause. Did you make a conscious decision to balance the

humor with the seriousness, or was that a natural progression of the story?

It was a conscious decision. I try to strike that balance in everything I write—humor woven into

heartbreak, absurdity bumping right up against the raw stuff of life. It’s not just a craft choice,

it’s how I see the world.

With CLEMENTINE CRANE PREFERS NOT TO, the humor came naturally because perimenopause

itself is so full of contradictions: one minute you’re laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of a hot

flash in the grocery store, the next you’re flattened by exhaustion, grief, or rage. I wanted

readers to feel that whiplash.

The seriousness gives the story weight, but the humor makes it bearable—and gives women a

way to recognize themselves. To nod and laugh and say, yes, that’s me. For me, the two can’t

exist without each other.

Just for fun, are there any tips or tricks that have helped you with the myriad “joys” of

perimenopause?

I’m a big believer in rage-walking, talking openly with other women, writing it out (thus the

workshops I’ve started to offer).

HRT (hormone replacement therapy) has been a lifesaver. The real trick is finding a doctor who

listens, takes your symptoms seriously, and actually knows the current research on

(peri)menopause care. Too many women are brushed off or handed outdated information.

Having a provider who sees you, believes you, and stays up to date makes all the difference.

Do you have a favorite scene from Clementine Crane Prefers Not To? What makes that scene

extra special to you?

I hate to play favorites, but I love the opening chapter. Without giving anything away, I had a

blast writing this scene. It captures Clementine’s very first hot flash and, at the same time,

exposes the cracks in her marriage. It also introduces one of my favorite characters—Clem’s

best friend, Georgia.

This chapter sets the tone for the whole book: it shows the physical upheaval of perimenopause

colliding with the emotional and relational challenges women face every day. And it does so in

a way that isn’t lecture-y,—it’s honest, sharp, and (I hope) laugh-out-loud funny.

Are you planning any more books in Clementine’s universe or do your next book ideas go in a

new direction?

This is the first time I’ve ever been tempted to write a sequel. CLEMENTINE CRANE PREFERS

NOT TO ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, and Clem still has plenty to figure out. So…maybe. For

now, I’ll just say that her voice is very much alive in my head.

Buy the book HERE.

Kristin Bair Biography

Kristin Bair writes fiercely (and humorously) about women—those navigating the demands of

family, ambition, and identity while confronting the patriarchal structures that hold them back.

Her fourth novel, Clementine Crane Prefers Not To (Oct. 14, 2025), follows a woman radicalized against the patriarchy by her very first hot flash of perimenopause. She is also the author of Agatha Arch Is Afraid of Everything (a People magazine Best New Book), The Art of Floating, and Thirsty, along with essays on topics ranging from China and bears to expats gone rogue.

Kristin teaches in the MA in Writing Program at Johns Hopkins University and at the Yale

Writers’ Workshop. She earned her MFA in fiction writing from Columbia College Chicago and is

a fiction editor at Pangyrus. A native Pittsburgher, Kristin now lives north of Boston with her

husband and two kids. Learn more at kristinbair.com and sign up for her newsletter. Follow her

on Instagram, TikTok, and Threads: @kbairokeeffe.