Transitions to Retirement: Read All ABout It!

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Transitions to Retirement

Read All About It!

Enise Olding and Carol Baird-Krul

Following on from the previous three-part series based on the workshop “Transition to Retirement: The Uncharted Course”© created and developed by retired educators Carol Baird-Krul and Enise Olding, this article takes a look at some resources you can use in preparing for your transition from work into retirement. Previous issues introduced the idea of the transition from work to retirement, and the phases one might expect to experience right after leaving work and before feeling comfortable in a new role and to exploration of options open to the newly retired. Previous articles may be viewed by accessing www.PacificEdgePublishing.com. Look under the Canadian Teacher Magazine link - Back Issues - Fall 2004, Winter 2005 and Spring 2005 for downloadable PDF files.

Taking a few hours out of your busy work schedule to attend a workshop that encourages you to focus on you and the rest of your life doesn’t sound like much of a sacrifice. But we know all too well that when you are up to your ears in marking, planning and solving an endless variety of problems, it is easy to avoid taking on anything else, no matter how beneficial it might be. “Most people take more time planning their annual vacation than they do their retirement,” was the wry comment of one of our survey responders.

Being workshop presenters, we’d naturally strongly encourage you to take Transition to Retirement: The Uncharted Course! We know the workshop experience is invaluable, but if that’s not an option, or you don’t have the time, or are perhaps somewhat fearful of the very thought of retirement and simply want to avoid dealing with it right now, consider browsing through some of the books we’ve discovered.

––––––––– Enise’s Picks –––––––––

The Healing Journey Through Retirement
by Rich, Madway Sampson, Fetherling
John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2000
ISBN 0-471-32693-3

If you’d like a gentle approach to understanding and working through the transition from work to retirement, this is the book for you. Along with several working pages, which you can choose to complete or simply contemplate, this book takes a very thorough look at the experiences one might expect to have upon entering retirement. The reader is encouraged to look beyond the obvious, and beyond the answers to the questions, to find out why the answers were made, upon what they are based and where they come from. This is an encouraging book which helps the reader to look within while journeying down the pathways of life with open eyes to find a new sense of understanding upon which to base future plans.

It’s Only Too Late If You Don’t Start Now -
How to Create Your Second Life at Any Age
by Barbara Sher
Dell Trade Paperback, 1999
ISBN 0-440-50718-9

In this book the glass is definitely half full and not half empty at mid-life. Although the age of 40 is often mentioned, the concepts apply equally for 50, 60 and onward. Viewing the stages of human life from nature’s vantage point certainly helps make clear that all the twists, turns and hands of fate we’ve been dealt up to midlife are by and large unavoidable. In other words, it is all “normal.” If you are poised on the brink of mid-life, this book will turn around any notions of despair about being on the slippery slope to declining old age ending in the arms of the grim reaper. A heartening read mainly because life’s passages and nature’s influences on our lives are explained in encouraging and understandable ways.

Don’t Retire, Rewire! 5 Steps to Fulfilling Work That Fuels Your Passion, Suits Your Personality, or Fills your Pocket
by Jeri Sedlar, Rick Miners
Alpha Books and Pearson Education, 2003
ISBN 0-02-864228-7

If you’re considering another career, job or earning opportunity after retirement, then this book will help you get going. Examples of others who have chosen to move in another direction to earn money, or to enhance and broaden their lives are given. But most important are the tools to help you discover how to “rewire” and start on another earning pathway; these include learning about yourself and what “drives” you, what you’re good at, and what you love to do. Included are tips and ideas about getting your new life up and running. This book is not just about finding another full-time job; it is more about finding an occupation—which could be paid or unpaid—that fits your lifestyle, your values and your schedule.

The Healthy Boomer: A No-Nonsense Midlife Health Guide for Women and Men
by Edwards, Lhotsky, M.D., Judy Turner, Ph.D
McClelland & Stewart, Inc., 1999
ISBN 0-7710-3050-9

This book certainly saved my bacon when I was embraced in the turmoil of midlife. Approaching the trials and tribulations courtesy of mid-life, I found this book helped to educate and clarify some of the physical changes that occur at that time. As the title says, this is a no-nonsense guide and because the information is given in an approachable style, it goes a long way to making anyone experiencing the challenges of midlife feel normal. Filled with solid, pertinent information, this book helps in the decision making that is an important part of this time in life and will help men, women and couples, as the back cover says, “on the journey from midlife turbulence to midlife mastery.”

––––––––– Carol’s Picks –––––––––

Future Perfect: Retirement Strategies for Productive People
by David Bond and Diane Bond
Douglas & McIntyre, 2002
ISBN 1-55054-957-X

By far and away my favourite book of all the ones I’ve read to date about retirement. The book’s positive tone and use of real people who’ve made the adjustment from a productive career to an engaged and fulfilling retirement, was for me, both enlightening and stimulating. The ideas and thoughts of the people included in the book gave one pause and collectively showed, that with planning, retirement can be the best career a person can have. Although some of the people profiled are Canadian household names, the book is not about the rich and famous; but rather, a down-to-earth engaging look at people who have made a major transition in their lives. Future Perfect is a perfect book to read when contemplating retirement, easy to read, thought provoking and positive to the point that the reader can’t help but be energized.

Retirement Guide for Canadians: An overall plan for a comfortable future
by Henry S. Hunnisett
Self-Counsel Press, 1993
ISBN 0-88908-866-7

Originally published thirty years ago, the information in this book is nevertheless current and extremely useful. Beginning with the question “Are you ready to retire?” the book looks at all aspects of retirement. Based on the author’s own experiences, the book covers the psychological, emotional and financial areas that should be carefully considered by anyone contemplating retirement. It is a manual for retirement and full of good solid advice, given in clear, straightforward, easily understood language. If you want to cover all your bases in one book, this little gem is it!

Dreams Have No Expiry Date: A Practical and Inspirational Way for Women to take Charge of Their Futures
by Deanna Rosenswig and Laurie Gottlieb
Random House, 2005
ISBN 0-679-31290-0

If, as the back cover asks, you’ve ever found yourself wondering after you’ve retired “What’s next?” this book is for you. Written just recently by two friends who found themselves contemplating the answer to that question, its main message is that it is never too late to explore your dreams and passions. The book is full of insightful questions set out in the form of mental exercises that will help you to personalize your road map in retirement. There are many inspirational interviews and tips on how to make your dreams a reality. The authors explore and debunk the myths surrounding aging and retirement in a very upbeat manner that is engaging, leaving the reader with no doubt that dreams only have an expiry date if you want them to.

For Better or For Worse But Not For Lunch: Making Marriage Work in Retirement
by SaraYogev, Contemporary Books, 2002
ISBN 0-8092-9720-5

Using a take-off on the Lynn Johnson comic strip or the traditional marriage vow as part of its title, this book deals with the rather difficult topic of relationships in retirement gently, but firmly. Because today so much emphasis is put on the financial aspects of retirement, most people do not think about how unstructured time, loss of one’s professional identity, combined with constant togetherness will affect the single most important relationship in their lives. This book, written by a psychologist with years of experience in counselling couples, provides exercises, techniques and guidelines to help people prepare and weather any storms that might come their way as they embark on this major transition. This is not a heavy-handed tome—the subject is covered with humour and is written in jargon free language. If you’re both retiring, or one is already retired, or one partner is retiring and the other isn’t, this book is worth reading and sharing.

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Once you start dabbling in the topic of retirement and considering the next phase in your life, you’ll find there is a veritable smorgasbord of options spread before you. Moving your mind out of your current workplace and job and into other realms, which might even become a reality for you, helps create excitement and renewed enthusiasm for life. Sift through as much information as you can on the topics of retirement and the second half of life because you will be entering uncharted waters, and these titles will provide you with some good “aids to navigation” that will help you chart your course.

Carol and Enise work together doing, among other things, workshop presentations as DR Associates. They are currently working on a book that will reflect the contents of the pre-retirement planning workshops they developed and created.