Is there life after work?
Authors seek your insights for new book about women and retirement
By Leslie Inman and Roxanne Jones
Is there life after work? That’s one of the big existential questions many of us ponder as we stare down retirement—something many of us baby boomer women are doing these days.
We were the first generation of women to claim our rightful place in the working world, building careers in record numbers and blazing a trail for the generations that followed. Now that some 5,000 of us are turning 65 every day, we’re retiring in record numbers, too. Once again, we’re in uncharted territory.
And we’re asking: What does retirement feel like—is it more akin topermanent vacation or purgatory? How will I maintain a sense of relevance and identity without a job title and connection to the workplace? Does the end of my career mean I’m finished? What will I do with all my newfound free time? How do I manage others’ expectations of how I’ll spend that time?
To address these and other issues women face when they leave their careers, we’re writing a book entitled Voices from the Other Side…of Retirement. It will be a guide for yet-to-retire women, with verbatim insights on what retirement looks and feels like from women who’ve already left the working world.
But unlike most retirement resources for women that focus on financial planning, Voices will speak to the human side of this transition: the emotional, health, identity, spiritual, relationship, and everyday pitfalls—and potential—this stage of life poses.
And we believe there’s no one more qualified to shed light on what post-career life is like than women who’ve already navigated the transition.
Are you one of them?
If so, we’d love for you to be part of this project and share your hard-earned insights about what retirement is—and isn’t. To do so, simply go to www.retirementvoices.com and complete our online questionnaire. Submission deadline is April 30, 2019. If your submission is accepted (in whole or in part), you’ll receive a free copy of Voices when it’s published.
The foundation of theVoices project is the idea of women helping women. This sense of sisterhood is what helped us forge a path to having meaningful, productive careers—and a place at the proverbial table.
Now we hope you’ll join us in this effort to help guide the way for women as they step away from the table and move toward retirement. The more retired women we hear from, the more powerful and valuable Voices will be. And even if you’re not yet retired, be sure to tell your friends who are.
Remember, the submission deadline is April 30!