Customer Reviews

Project Renewment: The First Retirement Model for Career Women

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Three cheers for Bratter and Dennis! They have created an easy-to-digest, practical guide to retirement for career women. If you are a woman thinking about retirement or a human resources professional seeking to assist retirees, Project Renewment will be your best book purchase this year. It would also make an intriguing selection for a women's book club.

In short, conversational chapters, the authors talk about the important questions facing career women: Should I retire? Can I afford to retire? What can I do to ensure that I will still feel productive and worthwhile without a job and a full calendar? How can I involve myself with people so that I will not miss being with my work colleagues every day? The authors have a commonsensical approach to these and many other retirement issues, and the humorous illustrations and quotations that introduce each topic are themselves worth the book's cover price. For now, I have two copies, one to keep and one to give to a friend. But I just might throw a "renewment shower" for a colleague about to retire (whoever said that showers were only for brides and mothers-to-be?) and present her with this wonderful book.

I had the opportunity to read Project Renewment, The First Retirement Model for Career Women. I work in the medical field specializing in mental health. With the population getting older it is important to have a book as good as Project Renewment. The book addresses an important part of life. An area left to retirement centers and many times loneliness. There are 38 essays that are pertinent and to the point. The issues are not only pertinent for women but also to men. From the beginning of the book it strikes you with essays on Retirement: Yes or No, I Won't Earn Another Dollar, and Whom Am I Without a Business Card?" I found the book was well documented and written. One of the greatest parts of the book is that it not only talks about the groups but how to create your own. The pitfalls you might encounter and how to make it successful. I recommend this book to any thinking about retirement, professional people working with people approaching retirement. This is a must read.

This is a very helpful book - and one that is also fun to read. It addresses the many concerns and anxieties I felt as I approached retirement after a long professional career. I highly recommend it for other women facing this significant change in their lives.

It's hard to belive that this reviewer is of that "certain age." What a mean-sprited review. This is a fabulous book, with every essay concise and right to the point. I gather that this book is meant to be one that you could read as your leisure, one that you can read a little then put down and pick up later. Ah, if only! Once I started reading it, I had to read on and on. The chapter titles are so catchy and the illustrations hit the spot every time. I am a single woman, sort of halway retired; and I think the authors wrote every chapter about me. How could they know me so well? I loved it; and I am going to send it to everyone of my "Renewing friends."

I am still working but of an age that I probably should be retired. I bought the book because the title intrigued me. I like the idea of "renewing oneself". Browsing thru the book became so interesting and I liked that I could pick it up and read a chapter in or out of order. The book had excellent suggestions that I found useful.It also made me laugh. Laughing is good.
I highly recommend this book if you are retired or thinking about it. Buy it for a friend. It makes a great gift!
Lois S.

This book is a "must read" for all women who have recently retired or who are planning retirement. As a fairly new retiree, I found it to be extremley helpful - it answered many of my questions and brought up topics that I had not throught about but that I now realize are very important to address. The writing is clear and I enjoyed the touches of humor. I particularly related to the essay (chapter) "Who Am I Without A Business Card?" and the discussion about "Why Do I Feel Guilty Reading A Book On Tuesday Afternoon". The last chapter is especially important.....it discusses authenticity and being introspective in order to find your own identity. I highly recommend this book and congratulate the authors for their insight.

What a great read for women. Highly relatable to the angst of retiring after being in my career for over 30 years. It made me think, it made me laugh and most importantly, it made me dig way down inside of me to get to my core stumbling blocks about my own retirement. I would highly recommend this to my women friends who are crossing over to retirement.

As a 53-year-old woman who is not yet near retirement age, I approached "Project Renewment" with a bit of hesitation and some trepidation. As I began to read, however, I realized that the authors provided me with much more than a new word for my retirement vocabulary - I love the concept of "Renewment." Ms. Dennis and Ms. Bratter have inspired me to begin starting to build a network of women with whom I can explore the issues of aging and retirement well in advance of facing these matters head on.

What a gift! This book contains everything a group of women needs to begin their own Project Renewment group. The group does not need to be composed of best friends or even acquaintances. Just women, wanting to meet and talk to other women about the issues of aging and retirement - the topics are here, the questions are here. Select a facilitator, add a little refreshment and a place to meet - voila! A group is born. The power of women helping women is clearly demonstrated by the examples and quotes used throughout this unique, extraordinary and powerful book.

Whether you are nearing retirement age, currently working through the details of your departure package or enjoying your well-deserved retreat, "Project Renewment" has something of value for you. I encourage you to get a copy for yourself and begin a Project Renewment group in your community. Imagine the change in our lives, in businesses and in our communities as women support and nurture women through the retirement process...who knows what just might happen next. Get a copy of this book, read it, start a group and find out!

Project Renewment is one of those rare books that combines real life experience with solid research. The heart of the book are 38 short essays, or vignettes, culled from 8 years of conversations with small groups of women, most recently retired from successful careers. Topics range all the way from "Who Am I Without a Business Card?" to "Less Steam in My Engine", from "Is Busy Better?" to "Buying the Plot." The writing is friendly and colloquial; a book I keep next to the bed and enjoy reading one or two essays at a time. And the illustrations by Lahni Baruck are fun, and always very much to the point.

But what really impressed me is that the personal stories are re-enforced with data from the latest research. Bratter is a psychologist and brings professional insight into the transition women make from career to later years; Dennis brings an academic and journalist's insight into the process of aging.

The final part of the book is a Guide for others to use who want to start Project Renewments in their communities. The Guide is practical and easy to follow. My hunch is that there will be "Project Renewments" starting up all over the country.

If you're looking for the latest academic treatise on women and aging, this is not for you. But if you're looking, as I am, for something that is readable, feels very personal and insightful, this is for you. I've bought the book for several of my friends.

Sherry P. May

this book if you are open to it can change your view of your life..I read it not looking for answers, but for a process that might get me to ask the right questions...Buy the book and be avaiable for your own enlightenment