Sixty million people who identify as women, women-identified or gender expansive people in the United States are in menopause. Menopause is a point on the Reproductive Justice spectrum of lived experiences that still necessitates protections around agency and bodily autonomy. In 2021, we spent a year engaged in culture shift, narrative shift and policy change work. How did we do this? I enlisted the the support of a small group of people and we became our own cartographers charting the path (that’s what we do right @michelleisrizin ?). We knew we needed to make sure that people could see the signs of life, even it the signs appeared illegible initially. I knew that we needed a basecamp and so we created one called @blackgirlsguidetomenopause Our basecamp is warm, well lit, open, accessible, grounded and growing. We also respect and honor the terrain. We have created a place where the shadow and light aren't conflicting, but respected as being in concert. There is laughter and tears here. We put out a signal, an invitation to join us and when people did arrive just as they are, we began to transform our own understanding of where exactly we are together. We continue to do this through telling stories, our stories and documenting the process as we grow and learn more. As we step into 2022, I want to say "thank you". Thank you for the stories shared, partnerships, encouragement and financial support that allows us to fully stock our basecamp. Thank you for supporting our growing team that comes to together to create opportunities for more people to join us here and engage in the storytelling, healing, learning, and culture/narrative shift work of BGG2SM. We look forward to seeing you all in 2022 on the dark side of the moon... Omisade~ PS Check out the last episode of Season 3 with Dr. Jennifer Mullan of @decolonizingtherapy which can be listened to on @spotify and #applepodcast and the latest version of the zine, Messages from the Menopausal Multiverse: The Motherboard that includes artwork from Assata Goff @assatasmagic and a poem by @adriennemareebrown and @nalodarling on @issuu (and will available for purchase on @akpressdistro soon!)