Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After 50 Years (Culture Tools) [Paperback]

Nancy Merz Nordstrom (Author), Jon F. Merz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Culture Tools | Publication Date: August 22, 2006

Lifelong learning is an incredibly important tool for finding satisfaction in the after-50 years. Authors Nancy Nordstrom, former director of the Elderhostel Institute Network--the largest educational organization for older adults in the world--and her son Jon are experts on the subject. They give the how-to details on maintaining an active, fulfilling lifestyle after leaving the workforce, through educational travel, volunteerism, civic action, and more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A great help to those who believe that they can make their greatest contributions in the second half of life. -- Marc Freedman, President and Founder, Civic Ventures

All you need to know about learning in later life, here between two covers. Readable, comprehensive, and inspiring. -- Harry R. Moody, Ph.D., Director, Office of Academic Affairs, AARP

Every Baby Boomer should grab a copy of this optimistic and helpful book. -- Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D. Founder and CEO of Age Wave, author of Age Wave

Learning Later, Living Greater effectively demystifies the fun and life-enriching promise of improving one's knowledge. Highly recommended. -- --Midwest Book Review

Learning Later, Living Greater shows the nearly unlimited opportunities for those who want to broaden their retirement lifestyle. -- Robert K. Otterbourg, author of Retire & Thrive

Nordstrom correctly champions lifelong learning as a proactive lifestyle for overall personal development and a primary factor for brain health! -- Dr. Paul Nussbaum, author of Brain Health and Wellness

From the Publisher

Learning Later, Living Greater will help older adults realize that lifelong learning can be a health club for their minds, their bodies and their spirits. It will be the guidebook for transforming their after-work years into a richly-satisfying period of personal growth and social involvement. They will actively "live" their retirement. While there are countless other books that cover the subject of retirement, none addresses, in-depth, the vital aspect of lifelong learning. Learning Later, Living Greater thoroughly explores this topic. The book contains the latest in scientific research, useful information and suggestions, resources, interviews with other experts in the field, and inspiring first-person accounts of how lifelong learning has enriched lives.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 306 pages
• Publisher: Sentient Publications (August 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591810477
• ISBN-13: 978-1591810476
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #994,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nordstrom Gives Tons of Ideas for Productive Life After 50, September 3, 2007

By 

L. A. Sosnowski (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After 50 Years (Culture Tools) (Paperback)

Learning should be a lifelong project, according to the author of `Learning Later, Living Greater,' Nancy Nordstrom. She herself went back to school at the age of 51 for a masters degree and then pursued a new career.

She spells out three types of learning: learning in the classroom, through educational travel, and through community service. "Lifelong Learning expands your intellectual, social, spiritual and physical horizons," she writes. In other words, mind can continue to grow even at an age when it is expected to decline.

Nordstrom cites research that mental decline as we age is not automatic. Instead, it is entirely possible to grow new brain cells as old ones age, if we give ourselves the stimulation of challenges. Active lifelong learning can provide a "Learning Vaccine", in the words of Dr. Paul Nussbaum, a researcher and author of "Brain Health and Wellness."

In an interview, Nordstrom called "lifelong learning a health club for the mind, body and spirit." She says medical science has begun to find evidence that the brain will grow, adapt and repair itself, if it is kept stimulated and challenged.

Nordstrom's book and website, learninglater.com, give tons of suggestions for meaningful volunteer work. Many new retirees are looking for more interesting volunteer assignments that have more responsibility.

Those over the age of 50 or so generally have a void once child rearing is done, and this is where "lifelong learning can step in to fill the void. Being engaged in lifelong learning enlarges the scope of our interests, provides opportunities to meet new people, keeps us current and active, expands our horizons, and provides opportunities to develop new ideas and handle change."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended., December 9, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After 50 Years (Culture Tools) (Paperback)

Lifelong learning expert Nancy Merz Nordstrom and critically acclaimed writer Jon F. Merz present Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years, a guide to reaping the benefits of lifelong learning. From why learning is important to stimulate activity in the aging brain, to pros, cons and distinctions of classroom learning as compared to learning through educational travel or through volunteer work, to where to find the most innovative lifelong learning programs, Learning Later, Living Greater effectively demystifies the fun and life-enriching promise of improving one's knowledge. Highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After 50 Yearsr, January 29, 2012

By 

Kenny - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After 50 Years (Culture Tools) (Paperback)

This is the best book ever - written describing this College program about "the boys and the girls with the Grandma and Grandpa faces". I have been an active participant in an Institute for Learning in Retirement program at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois for the last twelve years. This book describes a similar program with incredible insight. For me it was an accurate - fun, fast, and easy read.