Out of Office: A Retirement Memoir of Stepping Back, Showing Up, and Sucking at New Things

What happens when your work, routine, and structure disappear?

Days before her fifty-third birthday, Brooke E. Rye retired from a career as a software project manager and created a new role for herself: Chief Architect of a Well-Lived Retirement.

Unsure of a singular passion but unwilling to drift quietly into a winding-down version of life, Rye designs a year-long retirement experiment exploring creative projects, community, and fitness—complete with quarterly reviews, progress tracking…and dogs.

With wry, self-aware humor and unflinching honesty, Rye shares what happens when the charts are full and the goals are checked off, discovering that the most meaningful parts of life rarely fit into a spreadsheet.

Out of Office is a thoughtful, engaging memoir about life after 50, retirement, and reinvention for women who refuse to fade quietly. It tells the story of rediscovering purpose, identity, and joy when the routines of work and career are gone, showing how meaning can be built piece by piece.

If you enjoyed Wild, Eat Pray Love, or The Happiness Project, Out of Office will inspire, entertain, and reassure anyone navigating midlife transitions and life after work.