Even if you don’t know her name, you know Melani Sanders’s face. The Florida-based mom of three went viral last spring after announcing on Instagram that, as a woman of a certain age, she was over worrying about some of the annoying things in life. On this particular day, it was a “too-little sports bra” and hair that didn’t look a certain way. Sanders, 45, announced in the post that she was founding the We Do Not Care (WDNC) Club and invited other women who were perimenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal to share what they no longer care about in this season of life. A movement was born that has been joined by millions of women in menopause and perimenopause who are dying to air their grievances.
That first post has nearly 241,000 likes and 24,000 comments. Since then, Sanders has shared more videos of herself listing off things she and other WDNC members are over, often while wearing multiple pairs of glasses, a sleep mask, and a highlighter behind one ear. Sanders, who has more than two million Instagram followers, has earned an army of celebrity admirers along the way, including Halle Berry, Ashley Judd, Shonda Rimes, and Kristen Bell. Last year, she was also named People magazine’s creator of the year.
Now Sanders has put all of that wisdom together in a new book debuting this week. The Official We Do Not Care Club Handbook offers a little of everything for women, including hilarious lists, such as items lost by WDNC members (plane tickets, Panera gift cards, the name of the person we’re speaking to, our names, and the car keys that are usually discovered in the fridge or freezer). Readers can also find plenty of educational content to help them navigate the changes that come with perimenopause and menopause, as well as handy form letters (“Notification to Partner: Sexual Opt-Out” and “Formal Apology to Innocent Victim Caught in the Peri/Menopause Crossfire”). There are even fun games to play, such as Brain Fog Word Match.
SELF caught up with Sanders to discuss her new book and what women worldwide have gained through the WDNC movement. “The key messaging I want my sisters to always know is that you are enough, and you are not alone,” Sanders tells SELF.
SELF: Where did the idea from your original post come from?
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