Customer Reviews

After 50 It's Up To Us: Developing The Skills And Agility We'll Need

5 star:		(19)
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3 star:		(1)
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As one who has admired Dr. George Schofield's mind and work for years, I am delighted that he has finally chosen to share his research and perspectives on this very significant life intersection. While reporting as a social scientist, Dr. Schofield most importantly shares his own life long journey and his courage to live at life's edges. This authentic voice permeates this work and one feels that one has a wise companion for the road ahead. This central message has never been more true: we are responsible for what happens; I find this a powerful and positive reminder.

George Schofield has provided an easy to follow pathway for each of us to determine our "readiness" for life after 50 and beyond. For many of us whose "eye on the ball" was so intense that we failed to notice that the magic line of middle-age had come and gone, Mr. Schofield provides us with tools to reassess ourselves and our lives while "in transit." As one who has long crossed that line, the advise I've provided others in preparation for the later stages of life is "expect to be surprised." No one can anticipate all of the financial, social and personal changes which arrive with aging (including the welcome as well as the unwelcome). "After 50 It's Up to Us" provides tools for each of us to develop the flexibility often required to effectively respond to the arrival of the unexpected. I highly recommend this book.

Great book for those who aren't sure what they want to be when they grow up!

Dr. Schofield openly writes about what so many of us are trying to hide; we are getting older in a society that values youth. How can each of us take responsibility for leading healthy, productive, and fulfilling lives well into our 80's and 90's?

This book contains both the wisdom of the author and the personal stories he collected from interviewing people between the ages of 50 and 97.

If you are looking forward to a wonderful rest-of-your-life, and not just a long rest, you need this book. Finding Your Sweetie After 50

What a wonderful book! The most fun book I've read in a long time. Makes perfect sense. What took so long for this one?

"After 50" is a must read for anyone facing transitions in mid-life. Dr. Schofield's book is filled with insightful tools to help navigate this often unsettling transition. My favorite chapter is "A New Framework for Skill and Agility after 50", in which he sets forth a learning plan with exercises designed to examine our own story and abilities. It is an enjoyable read filled with substantial exercises to help us develop our own path and abilities.

Somehow I always thought I would stay young, but suddenly 50 is looming on the horizon! George Schofield wisely and in a very readable format lays it out for us: now that we are here, what do we need to do to take care of ourselves, our families and the rest of our lives.?

Schofield is smart, practical and gave me a lot of think about. I would reccomend this book to all those babyboomers who never trusted anyone over 30, and are now in our 40's 50's and 60's! Yipes! How did this happen? Thanks! I'm buying it as gifts to give to my friends.

By 2015 some 77 million Americans will be fifty to sixty-nine years old and represent the first (and largest) generation in history to be so long lived and have to deal with the promises and problems of such an extended live span. In "After 50 It's Up To Us: Developing The Skills And Agility We'll Need", George H. Schofield presents the results of his own researches on the subject, which include numerous in-depth interviews with Americans in the 50 to 97 age bracket. The result is an articulate presentation offering invaluable insights and an accessible wisdom to the mind-opening possibilities of what an extended life span can offer senior citizens today. "After 50 It's Up To Us" stresses that planning is essential; the pace of change is accelerating; nobody's life happens entirely according to plan; thriving beyond the age of 50 requires development and application special abilities; agility in dealing with changes is a necessity; situations and companions can change as we age -- often without prior warning; aging cannot be ignored; mastering the skills of coping with and benefiting from the aging process is an essential and life-long necessity; living successfully beyond the age of 50 must be a customized plan specific to oneself. Of special note are Schofield's ten tips when negotiating through the unchartered territory of an extended life span. Simply stated, "After 50 It's Up To Us" should be considered mandatory reading for all seniors, and an important acquisition for community library Self Help/Self Improvement reference collections.

After 50 It's Up to Us has become an ongoing reference book for me. Schofield's engaging and upbeat insights and real-life stories are wonderful starting points for both family discussions and personal reflection. Be sure to read the section on 10 Key Realities After 50 anytime you find yourself saying, "I'm too old to change; that's just the way I am."

At about 100 normal sized pages "If you find it wondrous short, it cannot hold you long".
I couldn't decide whether to give this book one star because it was a rehashing of trite concepts from others or 5 stars because it had some genuinely new insights that made me think.
The book is apparently based on a large number of interviews of 50+ year olds by the author. The book doesn't describe the interviews in any detail; more importantly for me it doesn't describe how the interviews led to the insights in the book. There are many quotes from other authors but they float somewhat in isolation from the main lists and ideas of the book. So I was left unclear whether those lists and ideas have come from others or from the author.
For example are "identity anchors" the author's invention or something pulled from psychology (perhaps with a research base to back them up)? We are told they have "2 key aspects: 1- They serve to keep something safe and centered but also inhibit change even if change is desirable 2- Have their own strengths often in opposition to the forces trying to dislodge them." (Seems to me like jargonizing the obvious but if it leads you to think about these issues that is probably useful)
We are also told "the 2 major forces working on identity anchors are--belonging: the need to know who I am when I am with others and how successful I am at maintaining the level of belonging I think I should have and --- individuation: the need to know who I am and how successful I am at being an independent individual
We always have need for enough belonging and individuation--balance between the two varies throughout life."
Reading this led me to reflect on my belonging-individuation balance which was maybe useful but I don't think it really moved me beyond knowing I am pretty self-contained and that at 50 I ought to be getting out a bit more outside work.

The author describes an HR/Business/Consulting background and this book probably reflects that. There seems to be some academic backing to what is written but the links are not clear. There are a number of lists--easy to grab, but how each list got chosen isn't clear. For example here are "10 key skills after 50:
Planning is essential
Pace of change is accelerating
Life doesn't go completely according to plan
Thriving 50+ requires special abilities
Path we expect will change as we go down it
Previous skills may not be what we need in future--may even get in the way
Situations and companions will change, sometimes without notice
Aging cant be solved or moved beyond like a problem
Acquiring and practicing right skills early will make a difference in quality of life later
No one-size-fits all answer for life 50+. Success requires resilience and awareness in taking responsibility for ourselves."

.....but it isn't clear to me why these are more important after than before 50.

Much of the book could be a good basis for a discussion group. It may be that the author runs courses, workshops for the 50+ age group and has decided to convert them into a book...without really working out how to answer questions that would get addressed in any discussion of the material.