Description
Book SynopsisMichelle 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.
Trade Review[Retirement and Its Discontents] is provocative and guaranteed to make you spend time thinking of how you can best transition to retirement. -- Richard Eisenberg * Forbes/Next Avenue *
Recommended. * Choice *
Michelle Pannor Silver’s
Retirement and Its Discontents: Why we won’t stop working, even if we can provides a thoughtful investigation of a specific transition of ageing. -- CAROL TAVRIS * Times Literary Supplement *
Before I even finished the book, I found myself recommending it to gerontology students who were fantasizing about their own retirement -- Summer Roberts, University of South Carolina, Beaufort * American Journal of Sociology *
By deftly recounting the narratives of people whose careers were an integral part of their identities . . . [
Retirement and its Discontents] raises questions about work, gender, family, and our sense of self-worth. * Contemporary Sociology *
A convincing analysis of the disquiet among a small group of elders who—despite having money—want to work. Warning! A furtive tear may betray empathy for their deep feelings of abandonment, depression, being a renegade. Silver digs deep for courageous insights into the transition from career to retirement. -- Teresa Ghilarducci, The New School, author of
Rescuing Retirement: A Plan to Guarantee Retirement Security for All AmericansThis fascinating read holds insights not only for those on the verge of retirement, but for all of us—in how we think about structuring our work and living our lives. -- Michael Norton, Harvard Business School, coauthor of
Happy Money: The Science of Happier SpendingThis extremely well-written, interesting, and informative book gives rich and vivid retrospective accounts by contemporary professional retirees of what was, for them, a jarring transition. The in-depth accounts of people with different occupations are deftly analyzed—revealing both commonalities and differences.
Retirement and Its Discontents feels timely, as growing numbers of workers are reaching conventional retirement age. Michelle Silver’s writing style is appealing, and the stories capture and hold the reader’s attention. -- Phyllis Moen, University of Minnesota,
Encore Adulthood: Boomers on the Edge of Risk, Renewal, and PurposeThis is a really interesting book—I can't say I've seen anything like it. Obviously well written and well researched in addition to being a great read, it takes an innovative and personal look at a seemingly familiar concept—retirement—and challenges us to think beyond the stereotype of golf courses and loving grandchildren. Instead, it explores the social constructions of identity and work through interviews and examples ranging from physicians to homemakers. -- Kate de Medeiros, O'Toole Family Professor of Gerontology, Miami University, author of
Narrative Gerontology in Research and PracticeRetirement and Its Discontents addresses the experience of five different groups’ experience of retirement, with a focus on individuals who have found retirement challenging. This is cutting-edge research particularly because Michelle Silver interviewed members of groups who are often difficult to access, doctors and CEOs, as well as housewives, elite athletes, and professors. By concentrating on how the research participants explain their perspective, Silver demonstrates the diversity in how people experience retirement and makes the case for the decoupling of age and retirement. -- Deborah K. van den Hoonaard, St. Thomas University, author of
Qualitative Research in ActionTable of ContentsPreface
1. Introduction
2. Renegade Retirement and the Greedy Institution: The Doctors
3. Refined Retirement and Fulfillment Employment: The CEOs
4. Early Retirement and Resilience: The Elite Athletes
5. Late Retirement and Working in Place: The Professors
6. Undefined Retirement and the Retirement Mystique: The Homemakers
7. Conclusion
Appendix A. Methodological Overview
Appendix B. Interview Guide
Acknowledgments
Notes
References
Index
