Retirement: Wise and Witty Advice for Making It the Next Great Adventure

This book is for all of you in your forties, fifties, and sixties who have aging parents, those of you in your sixties and seventies who are retired or thinking of retirement, and those of you in your eighties and nineties who have "been there and done that."

I am seventy-eight and my husband is eighty. I used to think of myself as middle-aged but now realize that it is my children who are middle-aged. They're all in their fifties with kids in college.

I think of retirement as the next great life-changing adventure. I've had more than a few life-changing experiences, like my first day of school or the day I left home for college or got married or had children or took my first job. All the events signify entering into unknown territories, losing the known and the familiar and going into uncharted waters. Although these waters have been well mapped by others, it is still the great unknown for each individual taking that next step. In other words, we need to reinvent ourselves. Reinventing could be finding new interests, exploring different parts of ourselves, or becoming more of who we already are.

For me, the word retirement means only one thing -- control over my time. I can be as busy as I was when I worked full time as a professor of management, but because I don't have to be somewhere from nine to five as most people do, or teach evening classes as I once did, I have freedom. That freedom is the opportunity of choice. I can choose what I want to commit to and for how long. I have taken art classes when I couldn't draw, piano lessons when I couldn't play, and ballroom dancing with a husband who has two left feet. (Arthur Murray, the well-known dance instructor, gave him his money back for being totally hopeless!)

Whatever volunteering I do, I can still take a long trip and not be penalized for my absence. In other words, I can play hooky and not feel guilty, except that I sometimes do. If we go to an afternoon movie, I still feel like I'm doing something wrong, something illicit, which makes it doubly delicious.

This book will look at how to prepare for that next adventure -- and how to live it fully, avoiding the pitfalls and celebrating the joys. It's about embracing life before, during, and after the transition.

So start now -- smile -- you're about to embark on a new adventure!

"What a terrific book! It's chock-full of very useful and much-needed information about this phase of life. Full of Dr. Josefowitz's down-to-earth prose and marvelous poetry, this book emphasizes the wonder and pleasure of retirement for those who prepare themselves through understanding and planning."--Calvin A. Colarusso, M.D., author of Child and Adult Development and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California at San Diego

"This is not only a ' must have' manual on retirement but a wonderful book on living healthy and happy. Natasha's many ideas and resources combined with her humor make that next step something to really look forward to. Every corporation should present a copy to their retiring employees."--W.M. Snyder, Chairman of the Board, Atlas Crystal Works, Inc. "Dr. Josefowitz continues her fearless assault upon the mysteries of the human condition, so sit back and enjoy a delightfully insightful perspective on the opportunities and challenges presented by aging."--Mike Townsend, Director of Marketing, White Sands of La Jolla, a retirement community "After spending a lifetime in the television industry as the general manager of a TV station, and as the founding chairman of the board of governors of the new Fox Television Network, retirement became truly one of the most difficult challenges of my life. Natasha's new book would have been so helpful then...because it's a godsend now! Nobody who retires should be without this book! It certainly opens the door to a happier and more joyful life!"--Martin Colby, retired General Manager of Channel 6, Fox Television Network

"This book is for all of you in your forties, fifties, and sixties who have aging parents, those of you in your sixties and seventies who are retired or thinking of retirement, and those of you in your eighties and nineties who have "been there and done that." I am seventy-eight and my husband is eighty. I used to think of myself as middle-aged but now realize that it is my children who are middle-aged. They're all in their fifties with kids in college. I think of retirement as the next great life-changing adventure. I've had more than a few life-changing experiences, like my first day of school or the day I left home for college or got married or had children or took my first job. All the events signify entering into unknown territories, losing the known and the familiar and going into uncharted waters. Although these waters have been well mapped by others, it is still the great unknown for each individual taking that next step. In other words, we need to reinvent ourselves. Reinventing could be finding new interests, exploring different parts of ourselves, or becoming more of who we already are. For me, the word retirement means only one thing -- control over my time. I can be as busy as I was when I worked full time as a professor of management, but because I don't have to be somewhere from nine to five as most people do, or teach evening classes as I once did, I have freedom. That freedom is the opportunity of choice. I can choose what I want to commit to and for how long. I have taken art classes when I couldn't draw, piano lessons when I couldn't play, and ballroom dancing with a husband who has two left feet. (Arthur Murray, the well-known dance instructor, gave him his money back for being totally hopeless!) Whatever volunteering I do, I can still take a long trip and not be penalized for my absence. In other words, I can play hooky and not feel guilty, except that I sometimes do. If we go to an afternoon movie, I still feel like I'm doing something wrong, something illicit, which makes it doubly delicious. This book will look at how to prepare for that next adventure -- and how to live it fully, avoiding the pitfalls and celebrating the joys. It's about embracing life before, during, and after the transition. So start now -- smile -- you're about to embark on a new adventure! "What a terrific book! It's chock-full of very useful and much-needed information about this phase of life. Full of Dr. Josefowitz's down-to-earth prose and marvelous poetry, this book emphasizes the wonder and pleasure of retirement for those who prepare themselves through understanding and planning."--Calvin A. Colarusso, M.D., author of Child and Adult Development and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California at San Diego "This is not only a ' must have' manual on retirement but a wonderful book on living healthy and happy. Natasha's many ideas and resources combined with her humor make that next step something to really look forward to. Every corporation should present a copy to their retiring employees."--W.M. Snyder, Chairman of the Board, Atlas Crystal Works, Inc. "Dr. Josefowitz continues her fearless assault upon the mysteries of the human condition, so sit back and enjoy a delightfully insightful perspective on the opportunities and challenges presented by aging."--Mike Townsend, Director of Marketing, White Sands of La Jolla, a retirement community "After spending a lifetime in the television industry as the general manager of a TV station, and as the founding chairman of the board of governors of the new Fox Television Network, retirement became truly one of the most difficult challenges of my life. Natasha's new book would have been so helpful then...because it's a godsend now! Nobody who retires should be without this book! It certainly opens the door to a happier and more joyful life!"--Martin Colby, retired General Manager of Channel 6, Fox Television Network"