Queen, Not Crone
Midlife, Menopause & Mojo
So, I wrote a book.
I wrote the book I wish someone had handed me in my mid-forties, when perimenopause arrived and I was completely blindsided by the changes, instead of a pamphlet and a bottle of calcium and magnesium.
Queen, Not Crone is part memoir, part Ayurvedic wisdom, and part very honest conversation about what happens when the body you’ve been living in for decades suddenly starts behaving like she has plans of her own.
I tell stories of my own trip through life, the funny ones, the embarrassing ones, and the ones I can laugh about now, because sometimes recognizing yourself in another woman’s story is exactly what you need. Along the way, I share the practices and wisdom that helped me make sense of what was happening and find my way into this next stage of life.
I wrote it the way I’d want a friend to talk to me: like we’re sitting on my living room floor, laughing over a cup of tea, telling the truth.
We’re not fading into the background. We’re just getting to the good part.
About the Author
Before three decades in personal and spiritual development, Monica T. Johnson lived another life entirely. She was a ballet dancer, a pop singer, and a model, chasing the spotlight before life pointed her inward. That range still shows up in everything she does today: equal parts grounded and playful, steady and a little irreverent.
Monica has taught yoga since 1997 and worked as a spiritual counselor since 2002, guiding people through change, grief, transition, and a deeper work of coming home to themselves. In 2016 she trained as a yoga therapist, and most recently became a certified Ayurvedic Health Counselor through Southern California University of Health Sciences. Along the way she created Rest Awake Meditation and Rest Awake Yoga, two mind-body methods now at the heart of her practice, Mind. Body. Awakened.
For all her training, Monica’s greatest gift is translating ancient wisdom into practical, everyday guidance that feels less like a lecture and more like sitting across the kitchen table from a trusted friend. She has spent years helping women feel more at home in their bodies and their lives, and Queen, Not Crone is where all of it comes together.
It’s her first book, and the one she feels she was preparing to write her whole life. It grew from her own midlife years and unwavering belief that this season isn’t something to survive. It’s something to wake up to, laugh through, and grow into.