My Time: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life - Hardcover

Trafford, Abigail

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 046508673X ISBN 13: 9780465086733

Publisher: Basic Books, 2003

Synopsis

Kids grown? Mortgage paid? Career topping out? What now? In My Time , best-selling author Abigail Trafford answers the questions more and more 50somethings are asking themselves.Thanks to the longevity revolution of recent decades, today's 55-75-year-olds are living and working longer and healthier than ever before. This generation is the first to experience the period of personal renaissance in between middle and old age--what Trafford calls "My Time." Defining this period as a whole new developmental stage in the life cycle, Trafford skillfully guides readers through the obstacles of "My Time" and offers them the opportunity to take full advantage of the bonus decades.With the same wit, compassion, and vivid storytelling that made Crazy Time one of the best-loved books ever written on the subject of divorce, Trafford blends personal stories with expert opinions and the latest research on adult development. From the doctor who gave up his practice to write books to the widowed mother of three who reinvented herself as a successful photographer, true tales of crisis and triumph sparkle on every page of this inspiring and insightful book.Like Gail Sheehy's Passages , My Time is certain to profoundly affect the journey through our adult years.

About this title

About the Author

Abigail Trafford is a columnist and former health editor at the Washington Post . She hosts "Health Talk," an online talk show on washingtonpost.com. Trafford is the author of Crazy Time: Surviving Divorce and Building a New Life (1982). She lives in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

Trafford, a former Washington Post columnist and author (Crazy Time: Surviving Divorce and Building a New Life), turns her attention here to a stage of life she calls, "My Time." Because so many people are now living longer, healthier lives, the years from 55 to 80 represent an opportunity for growth, after career and family responsibilities have eased, that earlier generations did not have. Drawing on longevity research and a wide variety of interviews with older adults, Trafford does a credible job of examining how many men and women are taking advantage of these decades to reinvent themselves. According to the author, to move creatively into the future, one must first go through a second adolescence, a period marked by self-empowerment and dreaming about new possibilities. After this transition, Trafford maintains, an individual decides on a life purpose, such as beginning a new career, volunteering, participating in the arts or pursuing an educational goal. Since many people experience illness or changes in love relationships during this period, Trafford includes anecdotes about how those in this age group deal with these problems. An excellent section on nurturing love explores the importance of friendship and family as well as the ways romance and sexuality can bloom and deepen in these years of personal development.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 046508673X
• ISBN 13: 9780465086733
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304