After 50: Spiritually Embracing Your Own Wisdom Years [Hardcover]

Robert J. Wicks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1997

What are the spiritual challenges specific to one's later years? How can an older person possess one of the greatest fruits of trust in God-a hopeful heart? In this totally unique book, bestselling author Robert Wicks addresses the need to prepare spiritually, rather than financially, for retirement. Wicks encourages readers to focus on three areas of preparation: building interior lives with prayer, caring for others from a deeper place in the soul and nurturing their own soul and hopeful heart.

In his characteristically engaging style, Wicks carefully mixes ideas, quotations, stories, humor and original prayers to provide practical spiritual advice and keen psychological reflection. He offers refreshing new ways to pray, including learning how to enjoy solitude, practicing "spiritual letter writing," developing one's own parables and practicing the gift of presence. All these help readers embrace God at the center of their lives.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The bumper sticker reads, "We're spending our children's inheritance." Sure, it's fine for retired people to enjoy themselves after a lifetime of toil. Robert Wicks, reminds us, however, that our wisdom years are a time in which we can offer ourselves to others in ways that may differ from earlier in life but which are equally worthwhile. In the three sections "Praying," "Caring," and "Nurturing," Wicks teaches a simple yet many-faceted way to maintain meaning, hope, and joy in a spiritual life. This is an inspirational and instructional book for the reader who knows that life is a journey of learning and loving.

Review

Feels like having an intense conversation with a passionate friend. -- Kathleen Fischer

It is good to know that Wicks has shared his wisdom with us. -- Liguorian

Just as the enduring music may seem deceptively simple, so the positive message in this book has a lasting quality. -- Journal of Religious Gerontology

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Paulist Press (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809104830
• ISBN-13: 978-0809104833
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #852,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Robert Wicks received his doctorate in psychology from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia. Presently, he is a professor at Loyola University Maryland. In 1994, he was responsible for the psychological debriefing of relief workers evacuated from Rwanda during their bloody civil war. In 2006, he delivered a presentation on self-care at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland and Walter Reed Army Hospital to health care professionals responsible for Iraqi war veterans with multiple amputations and severe head injuries. Dr. Wicks is author of numerous books including The Resilient Clinician (OUP, 2008), Overcoming Secondary Stress in Medical and Nursing Practice (OUP, 2006), and the acclaimed best seller, Riding the Dragon: 10 Lessons for Inner Strength in Challenging Times (Sorin Books, 2003). He lives with his wife Michaele in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Jump-start manual, September 21, 2003

By 

Rev. W. E. Pearce (Charlotte, N.C. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: After 50: Spiritually Embracing Your Own Wisdom Years (Hardcover)

Robert Wicks offers the reader a clean way to begin the process of deepening one's spiritual life in a meaningful, yet simple, way. Rather than creating guilt feelings and stumbling blocks, the reader is skillfully guided through simple instructions and exercises to discover that life can be meaningful, and that God is real! Though some evidence of his choice of churches appear throughout, this is a book every Christian can learn from...and make changes that are beneficial in one's life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guidance for Baby Boomers Growing Older, July 13, 2010

By 

Grad Student (Glen Cove, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: After 50: Spiritually Embracing Your Own Wisdom Years (Paperback)

Excellent concise book on how to prepare spiritually for the third part of our life. Not only should we prepare financially for retirement but the author shows us how to prepare spiritually for this time in our lives. Wick shows us how to get started and continue on this process of self discovery and finding fulfillment in God and ourselves.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to gain understanding and contentment as they approach the senior part of their lives.