Empowering good health and happiness beyond 50
Date Published: 20 March 2026
— Professor Chris van Tulleken, Clinician, Academic, TV Presenter, UK
Aged 50+ is a pivotal stage in many women’s lives. We are entering post-menopause—free from reproductive hormones, periods, and contraception. Children may be leaving home, careers may be shifting or winding down, and there is the dawning realisation that we may have 20 or 30 healthy years ahead of us. This is not an ending, but a powerful new beginning. This stage of life offers an opportunity to reconnect with yourselves, to rediscover what truly matters, and to prioritise self-love and self-care without guilt. This book brings you the wisdom of 50 inspiring women who share their lived experiences with honesty and generosity. Their stories offer guidance, reassurance, and permission to live authentically on your own terms. Together, they show how this stage of life can be rich with meaning, purpose, freedom, and joy. These are Your Joyful Years.
Professor Joyce Harper is a down-to-earth expert in reproductive and women’s health, with almost 40 years’ experience listening to women and translating science into practical, evidence-based guidance. She has published widely about women’s health and is passionate about helping women thrive. Joyce combines research, real-world experience, and a deep belief in living life to the full, and she practices what she preaches. This book is the second in her trilogy: Your Fertile Years; Your Joyful Years; and Your Final Years.
Can you tell us a little about the process of getting this
book published? How did you come up with the idea and how did you start?
My last book, Your Fertile Years, explored women’s health
from puberty to menopause. As I began thinking about what I wanted to write
next, I realised that although there are many books about menopause, there are
far fewer that focus on postmenopause and the possibilities of this stage of
life. I wanted to write a book that explored how positive, liberating, and
fulfilling these years can be.
I am a very happy and positive person, but I know that for
many women this time of life can feel uncertain or overwhelming. There is still
such a strong negative narrative around ageing, particularly for women, and I
wanted to challenge that. Through this book, I wanted to share the stories of
women who are thriving and to show that this can be a time of freedom, growth,
and self-discovery. Many of us feel this is the best time of our lives, and
that we can truly find our authentic selves once we are post-menopausal.
I began by interviewing women, initially people I knew who
I felt were living fulfilled and happy lives. From there, I used a snowball
approach, asking each woman to suggest others who were also thriving. This led
to a diverse and inspiring group of voices. The interviews took around six
months to complete and were incredibly rich and thought-provoking. From there,
I began writing, weaving their stories together with evidence-based insights
and practical reflections.
When it came to publishing, we decided to hybrid publish
because this gave us more control over the content and the timeline and meant
the book could come out sooner rather than later. I was fortunate to find five
sponsors to help with the publishing costs, which made a real difference.
What surprised you most about getting your book published?
There were no major surprises, but I did find it very
interesting to see the reaction when I wrote a piece for the UK press, in The
Daily Mail. The comments were very revealing. Many women were clearly
struggling and felt they could not possibly be happy at this stage of life. One
said I was living in a fairytale, and many others said they simply did not have
time for self-care. It reinforced for me that these are exactly the women I
want to support, and why I felt this book was needed.
Tell us a little about what you do when you aren’t writing
I am a Professor at University College London, where I teach
and do research on many aspects of women’s health, particularly fertility,
menopause, and wellbeing. I also give many talks in the UK and internationally
at conferences and events. Outside work, I love cold-water swimming, saunas,
raving, music, and many kinds of creativity. Those things bring me a great deal
of joy and help keep me grounded.
As a published author, what would you say was the most
pivotal point of your writing life?
I think the most pivotal point was realising that writing is
another way for me to educate and support women beyond the lecture theatre, on
social media, or the conference stage. Writing allows me to reach people in a
deeper and more lasting way, and that has been incredibly meaningful.
Where do you get your best ideas and why do you think that
is?
My best ideas come from life and from talking to women. So
much of what I write begins with listening, hearing women’s experiences,
concerns, hopes, and stories. I think that is why the ideas feel real and
important, because they are grounded in lived experience.
What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
One of the hardest things is seeing how much misinformation
there still is around women’s health, particularly on social media. It can be
very frustrating when I try to correct it and some people simply do not want to
hear evidence-based information. That can be challenging, but it also reminds
me why this work matters so much.
What has been your best accomplishment as a writer?
For me, my greatest accomplishment as a writer has been
creating opportunities to hear and share women’s stories. If my writing helps
women feel seen, informed, and more hopeful, then that is what matters most.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
None. When I begin a book, I am very committed to seeing it
through.
About the Author
Joyce is deeply passionate about empowering women to live their best lives through good health and happiness. Her last book, Your Fertile Years, published by Sheldon Press in 2021, explores women’s health from puberty to menopause. In Your Joyful Years, she shares the wisdom of 50 women over 50 who are thriving, to empower women to lead a life of good health and happiness. She has started writing her next book, Your Final Years, about the end of life.
Her podcast Why didn’t anyone tell me this? is ranked in the top 10% of podcasts globally on Listen Notes and is listened to in more than 90 countries.
Joyce gives many public talks. She regularly appears in the press, on radio and TV. She is a regular guest on various BBC programmes including Women’s Hour and the BBC World Service. She has been a guest on Brian Cox’s Infinite Monkey Cage and his radio show A Question of Science and she explained sex to Philomena Cunk, in Cunk on Life.
As co-founder and co-lead of the UK Menopause Education and Support Programme (InTune) with Dr Shema Tariq and the International Reproductive Health Education Collaboration (IRHEC), Joyce is dedicated to improving reproductive health education for all ages. She collaborates with schools across the UK and globally to deliver impactful programs that promote knowledge and understanding.
An avid cold-water swimmer, Joyce is also a founding member of the research network SwimHer, which investigates the links between women’s health and cold-water swimming. Her groundbreaking work includes publishing the world’s first study about how cold-water swimming affects menstrual and menopause symptoms.
Since 2016 she has run a local women’s group in Saffron Walden, The Purple Tent.
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