Books Archive

Retirement and Its Discontents

Retirement Wisdom · Sep 7, 2019 ·

(Subtitle: Why We Won’t Stop Working Even If We Can)

by Michelle Pannor Silver (2018 – Columbia University Press)

Book Review by Joe Casey

“Retirement’s freedom can create challenges for people who’s life’s work was closely associated with their sense of self-worth.”

Transitioning to retirement can be challenging. But it’s even more so for some people. Some experience boredom in retirement. Others may fall into depression in retirement. Books on adjusting to retirement can be helpful in preparing for retirement, but they don’t typically address people who love their work. Michelle Pannor Silver delves deeply into the experience of retirement for people whose identities are closely linked with their work. She provides a window into the lived experiences of different people’s transitions to retirement and the challenges and opportunities that emerge. The book paints a portrait of retirement that is complex and emotionally nuanced, at both an individual and societal level. For example, she highlights the cost of ageism that’s robbing organizations and communities of experienced human capital with much more to contribute.

Will the Timing of Your Retirement Be Up to You?

Retirement and Its Discontents is based on original research and is also realistic, accessible and relatable. A fascinating aspect of this book is Silver’s interviews with people from five different occupations: CEOs; elite athletes; professors; physicians; and homemakers. While the people interviewed are from very different walks of life, what they have in common is the degree to which their sense of self-worth is derived from what they do. Upon retirement, their identity is in flux. Their different occupations have different norms and triggers on the timing of retirement. What is clear is the significant role that institutions play in influencing when someone retires. While we may think about when someone wants to retire, the timing is not always up to the person.

Takeaways

Silver illustrates how retirement can mean different things to different people – it’s heaven to some and can be seen as a living hell to others. This book underscores the critical role that identity can play in transitioning to life in retirement and how important it is to be thoughtful in planning your transition. The more central a role that work plays in a person’s life, the more attention will need to be paid to replacing some of the psychological and social benefits derived from work.

Silver makes a compelling case that retirement is far more complex than many may think. She also emphasizes that retirement is a social phenomenon. This book illustrates that there are many different pathways to retirement. If you love your work (or someone you care about does), this book can be a valuable resource in preparing for the challenges of transitioning to retirement.

Retirement and Its Discontents on Amazon

Listen to our conversation with the author on The Retirement Wisdom podcast

Retirement Wisdom · Sep 3, 2019 ·

Subtitle: The Quest for a Moral Life

by David Brooks (2019 – Penguin Random House)

Book Review by Joe Casey

Is your life purpose the same today as it was when you were in your thirties? While they are not specifically books on retirement, two books I’ve read in the last five years offered different perspectives that profoundly changed how I view the life course and retirement. The Shift by the late Wayne Dyer and Falling Upward by Richard Rohr both taught me that the agenda for the second half of life is quite different than the first half. What drives and fulfills us in the first half of life is important, but fulfillment in the later phases of life will come from a deeper place and higher aspirations. As Dyer puts it, there’s a shift from pursuing “success to significance”.

David Brooks’ latest book The Second Mountain echoes the same powerful theme. As he describes it:

“If the first mountain is about building up the ego and defining the self, the second mountain is about shedding the ego and losing the self. If the first mountain is about acquisition, the second mountain is about contribution.”

A New Life Purpose

At some point in our life, the search for personal happiness begins to be less satisfying and the pursuit of greater purpose meaning and “moral joy” become more important. According to Brooks, a sense of life purpose stems from making meaningful commitments and those are rooted in community and helping others.

Brooks looks at the theme from a few new angles. He first tells the story from a big-picture perspective around culture and society today and explores community building in some depth. He adds compelling stories of people who are living a “second mountain” life and shares his own experiences, including the dissolution of his marriage and the story of his second marriage.

The Value of Valleys

The two mountains in this book are not sequential. You don’t graduate from one directly to the other. You pass through valleys, the rough patches and challenges that appear throughout life.

Brooks’s personal story and the stories of others he profiles in the book emphasize that most of our personal growth does not come from success. Rather it is forged by persevering through adversity, learning the key lessons and emerging to seek higher ground.

A Second Mountain Life

“The second mountain life is a spiritual adventure, but it is lived out very practically day by day.”

Like Richard Rohr’s Falling Upwards, Brooks paints a rich portrait of the spiritual dimension of mid to later life. While I believe that the main message of this book will be valuable to many people, this is not a book that everyone will love. While I have read and enjoyed all of David Brooks’ books, he is the rare political commentator who can aggravate readers on both sides of the political spectrum. While this book is not an overtly political one, he delves into his personal spiritual and religious journey, and some may find him to be polarizing on religion as well. I found his observations to be interesting and relevant, but they may not resonate with all readers.

Takeaways

This is a thought-provoking book that can be valuable in self-reflection about where you are and help to clarify your values and rediscover a new life purpose. It can be alarming to see how deeply ego and “first mountain” values can be rooted. Brooks’ work can illuminate the “push and pull” of tensions faced during transitions and periods of personal growth, like retirement or shifting to a second act career.

This book can help you to reframe periods of adversity, reflect upon them differently and extract valuable lessons for your next chapters.

The Second Mountain on Amazon

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Purpose and a Paycheck by Chris Farrell

Purposeful Retirement: How to Bring Happiness and Meaning to Your Retirement by Hyrum Smith

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Why Settle for Happiness in Your Retirement? – Emily Esfahani Smith

Interested in More Books on Retirement?

Check out our full list of reviews of the best books on retirement

Free Tools

Tap into access to free tools on our website to assist with your retirement planning, including retirement calculators, a longevity calculator and an Am I Ready to Retire? quiz at retirementwisdom.com

Retirement Wisdom · Aug 27, 2019 ·

by Phyllis Moen (2016, Oxford University Press)

Book Review by Joe Casey

The “one -job career” is history. Many baby boomers are interested in second careers or other creative ways to reinvent themselves in mid to later life. Yet, the vast majority of books on retirement focus on financial planning. Some attempt to provide a comprehensive manual on how to retire. This book is quite different. Phyllis Moen, a professor at the University of Minnesota, offers a tour of the big picture issues around retirement and provides smart prescriptions for individuals, families, and institutions on how to navigate and improve the future.

Your Retirement Template is Obsolete

Moen’s primary thesis is that powerful forces of change continue to reshape the worlds of work and retirement. In her view, the world we live in today is highly dynamic. Yet the policies, laws, and practices for retirement were set in a much earlier and simpler time when the single-employer model prevailed, careers were more linear and most of the workforce was male. As technology and demographic shifts swiftly march on, there is greater diversity in the ways that people live and work and a broader range of life choices and paths. That diversity conflicts with the institutional structure that remains rooted in the static assumptions and rigid models of the past. It’s creating significant gaps between what people need today and what’s available to them. Standardized One Size Fits All policies conflict with the demand today for more customized approaches. And spotlighting the concept of linked lives, Moen notes that these gaps create serious consequences, not only for individuals but for families, communities, organizations, and society as a whole.

Improvise Your Way to a Great Retirement

First and foremost, people today want a wide range of options, greater flexibility, and the ability to customize their own lives in retirement. The glacial pace of institutional change has led Baby Boomers to look for innovative ways to take control of their life planning and design the retirement they want. With personal stories and profiles, Moen highlights examples of how various Baby Boomers are improvising their way to the retirement they want. You’ll find their experiences enlightening and they may inspire your own thinking and ideas.

In addition, Moen posits recommendations for much needed and long overdue policy changes. In fact, she calls on Baby Boomers, and especially those who hold powerful roles, to advocate for change.

Don’t let the subtitle fool you. While much of the book is about Baby Boomers, Moen consistently notes the similar – and unique – challenges that Millennials face. Whether you’re a Baby Boomer nearing retirement or a Millennial pursuing FIRE, you’ll benefit by this meticulously researched and insightful book.

Encore Adulthood on Amazon

Related Book Reviews

Purpose and a Paycheck

Free Tools

Tap into access to free tools on our website to assist with your retirement planning, including retirement calculators, a longevity calculator, and an Am I Ready to Retire? quiz at retirementwisdom.com

Retirement Wisdom · Jul 5, 2019 ·

Retirement Wisdom · Jan 20, 2019 ·

by Tim Drake (2017 – RedDoor Publishing)

Book Review by Joe Casey

You may be checking your 401(k) and IRA regularly these days, but how about your mindset? It’s a very important asset if you’re facing a big transition or a midlife career change.

In Short

Tim Drake’s book is about cultivating the proper mindset, resilience, and creativity to create a ‘second bite of the cherry’ in midlife and beyond. It’s not a theoretical piece. It’s based on his personal experiences. After having built a successful business, being forced to sell it during a recession at 50 in the 1990s, he needed to create new opportunities for himself.

Unfortunately, many Baby Boomers today are forced away from traditional employment and shift toward alternative working lives. Drake notes the difficulties and challenges involved, but he highlights a long list of positives that this generation has over previous ones. It’s also clear how easy it is to take many of the advantages we have for granted. However, his book is not Pollyannish – he espouses a sense of realistic optimism (as well as good humor throughout).

Takeaways

Transitions Can Be Blessings (Eventually) Transitions can be tough. No doubt. But Drake stresses how they can be a catalyst for rethinking and redesigning key aspects of our life and work. After all, think of the major life transitions you made between birth and age 30? What if you had stopped at one. When you’re in the midst of a transition it can be difficult to see the positives. For example, he notes that because our generation is living in a time of unprecedented abundance, when we’re in a transition it can be easy to overlook some valuable advantages. He cites social capital as an important part of wealth, reminding us that our connections and relationships need nurturing. A transition period offers an opportunity to do that, especially if we’ve neglected them.

Your Mindset is Critical The book outlines a useful framework for developing a strong mindset in your next chapters. Drake’s model consists of four elements: How You Earn; How You Learn; How You Give and How You Re-Charge. The components are interesting and provide an opportunity to check where you are now and build a roadmap toward where you want to be on each. The author calls out the common excuses for each one that you’ll want to sidestep. He also covers Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset and how your mindset impacts your brain.

Are You Cut Out for Alternative Work? Drake encourages people in their 50’s, 60’s and beyond to consider alternative work options such as entrepreneurship (without touching retirement savings) and the gig economy. But he asks a series of questions to consider if that’s a viable option for you. He draws a sharp contrast between what’s required in traditional employment (compliance) versus entrepreneurship (creativity & pioneering) that’s worth pondering.

Could You Be a Slasher? Drake shares his observation that while many Baby Boomers closely identify with a singular profession (“I’m an Accountant”) many younger people see themselves and explain who they are quite differently (I’m a Writer/Graphic Designer/Social Media Advisor/Business Owner/Parent). We’re often much, much more than our jobs and he recommends exploring these multiple sides as a pathway toward alternative work.

Kickstarter

Mindset matters – and it’s in your control. Are you minding yours? Drake’s book offers a few ways to audit your mindset (You might be surprised – I was…) and ways to strengthen it. It’s one of the wisest non-financial investments you can make for your retirement.

Are you minding your mindset about retirement? Share on X

If you’re in – or anticipating – a transition this book is a very helpful resource.

Read this book?

Generation Cherry on Amazon