power, hormones, identity, and the moment a woman stops asking for permission
What happens when a woman reaches midlife and discovers that the life she has built no longer tells the whole story?
In The Hat and the Hill, Dr. Zrinka K. Fidermuc Maler takes readers on an unpredictable journey through hormones, ambition, relationships, identity, and the peculiar madness of modern life.
Part memoir, part investigation, and part unapologetic conversation about what changes after 50, it moves between science and personal experience, cultural observations and moments of glorious absurdity.
Sharp, funny, intellectually curious—and not particularly interested in telling women to age gracefully.
Order a personally signed copy directly from the publisher, Sovereign Red Hat Press.
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Available in paperback and Kindle eBook editions through Amazon worldwide.
from the book
Curious what happens when a woman stops following the script?
Start with the opening chapter. You’ll get a taste of the humour, the honesty, and the unexpected turns that make The Hat and the Hill anything but a conventional midlife book.
RESONANCE
A NOTE ON TONE
It is sharp, direct, occasionally outrageous, and frequently funny. Not because the subjects are trivial, but because humour has a way of revealing truths that solemn explanations sometimes miss.
You may find yourself laughing at something you expected to take seriously. That’s entirely intentional.
THE TURNING POINT
There comes a moment when the familiar answers no longer fit. When the roles, expectations, and habits that shaped your life begin to feel too small.
That moment isn’t necessarily a crisis. Sometimes, it’s the beginning of something far more interesting.
beyond the pages
An evening of laughter, unexpected questions, and wonderfully candid conversations at the Zagreb launch of The Hat and the Hill, October 2026.
INSIDE THE WORK
Hormones, Desire & the Midlife Plot Twist
What happens when your body changes the rules, but nobody thought to give you the new instruction manual?
The Life You Built & the Woman You’ve Become
The Life You Built & the Woman You’ve Become
Science, Self-Irony & a Healthy Dose of Rebellion
From questionable wellness promises to cultural absurdities, a journey through the things we believe, the things we question, and the things we finally stop apologizing for.
Why This Book Matters Now
We live in an age obsessed with longevity, wellness, looking younger, and optimizing practically everything. Yet remarkably little is said about what happens when a woman reaches midlife and begins questioning the rules she’s spent decades following.
What about desire, ambition, relationships, hormones, disappointment, curiosity, and the freedom to change your mind?
The Hat and the Hill brings these conversations into the open—with science, personal stories, cultural observations, and a generous dose of humour.
Not another instruction manual for becoming a better version of yourself.
A book about finally having the nerve to be yourself.
about THE AUTHOR
A PhD, a yoga mat, a red hat—and a healthy disrespect for the rules of aging gracefully.
Dr. Zrinka K. Fidermuc Maler is a writer, international relations scholar, and advisor who has spent much of her professional life exploring how people think, behave, change, and occasionally make spectacularly questionable decisions.
With a background spanning politics, literature, movement, and human development, she has never been particularly interested in staying inside one discipline — or taking herself too seriously.
The Hat and the Hill grew out of her own adventures in midlife, when hormones, ambition, relationships, and a lifetime of accumulated wisdom collided with the rather inconvenient discovery that there was still plenty left to figure out.
She writes with curiosity, self-irony, and the firm belief that some of life's most important conversations are considerably better with a sense of humour.
And preferably a red hat.in the press
From the changing experience of midlife to the roles, expectations, and assumptions women begin to question, the book is finding its way into the public conversation.
Explore selected interviews and media coverage.
Women in Midlife: Breaking the Stereotypes
READ THE ARTICLE →An Honest Conversation About Menopause, Identity and Midlife
READ THE INTERVIEW →Sovereign Red Hat Press
Frankfurt/M—Zagreb