Retirement and Its Discontents: Why We Won't Stop Working, Even If We Can

Silver, Michelle Pannor

ISBN 10: 0231188560 / ISBN 13: 9780231188562

Published by Columbia University Press (edition ), 2018

About this Item

With dust jacket. It's a well-cared-for item that has seen limited use. The item may show minor signs of wear. All the text is legible, with all pages included. It may have slight markings and/or highlighting.

Seller Inventory # 0231188560-8-1-29

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Retirement and Its Discontents: Why We Won't Stop Working, Even If We Can
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (edition )
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0231188560
• ISBN 13: 9780231188562
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

About this title

Synopsis

In the popular imagination, retirement promises a well-deserved rest―idle days spent traveling, volunteering, pursuing hobbies, or just puttering around the house. But as the nature of work has changed, becoming not just a means of income but a major source of personal identity, many accomplished professionals struggle with discontentment in their retirement. What are we to do―individually and as a culture―when work and life experience make conventional retirement a burden rather than a reprieve?

In Retirement and Its Discontents, Michelle Pannor Silver considers how we confront the mismatch between idealized and actual retirement. She follows doctors, CEOs, elite athletes, professors, and homemakers during their transition to retirement as they struggle to recalibrate their sense of purpose and self-worth. The work ethic and passion that helped these retirees succeed can make giving in to retirement more difficult, as they confront newfound leisure time with uncertainty and guilt. Drawing on in-depth interviews that capture a range of perceptions and common concerns about what it means to be retired, Silver emphasizes the significance of creating new retirement strategies that support social connectedness and personal fulfillment while countering ageist stereotypes about productivity and employment. A richly detailed and deeply personal exploration of the challenges faced by accomplished retirees, Retirement and Its Discontents demonstrates the importance of personal identity in forging sustainable social norms around retirement and helps us to rethink some of the new challenges for aging societies.

About the Author

Michelle Pannor Silver is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Health and Society at the University of Toronto.