Retire Smart, Retire Happy: Finding Your True Path in Life [Paperback]

Nancy K. Schlossberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2003

Most of us look forward to our retirement from full-time work, eagerly anticipating more free time and opportunities to play. But the reality of retirement can be different and hard to adjust to. Unexpected challenges may present themselves, leading us to question who we really are and what we can reasonably expect to accomplish in the remaining years of our lives. We may be confused by our changing relationships with family and friends, which no longer conform to an easy structure. Retire Smart, Retire Happy is one of the first books to provide guidance on the psychological and emotional adjustments we make in retirement. Nancy Schlossberg, a psychologist and experienced counselor, provides tips on coping with its ups and downs and reassures us that retirement can be one of the most fulfilling times of one's life. Readers are introduced to some common personality types among retirees, including Continuers, Adventurers, Searchers, Retreaters, and Easy Gliders. Armed with this knowledge, the author shows us how understanding our retirement "type" can help us put our strengths and resources to work. Each of the seven chapters contains dozens of examples of situations experienced by actual retirees and includes short self-assessment quizzes. Topics covered include doing a personal inventory, shoring up one's relationships, investigating new roles and activities, and taking charge of one's future. This thought-provoking book is a must-read for recent retirees and those about to retire.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Nancy Schlossberg has recorded a television special on PBS called "Retire Smart, Retire Happy," based on her best-selling book. Check local PBS listings throughout 2008!

About the Author

Nancy K. Schlossberg, EdD, is a counseling psychologist, specializing in mid-life and aging, transitions, and coping. She is co-president of the consulting firm, TransitionWorks, and she is Professor Emerita at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Product Details

• Paperback: 183 pages
• Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA); 1 edition (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591470390
• ISBN-13: 978-1591470397
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable Insight on Retirement Transition Strategies, November 14, 2004

By 

George Fulmore (Concord, California USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Retire Smart, Retire Happy: Finding Your True Path in Life (Paperback)

I've been happy to find the book, "Retire Smart, Retire Happy," by Nancy K. Schlossberg, (APA Life Tools, 2004). I think it gives me valuable insight into the multiplicity of retirement transitions; plus, it gives me tools to use in preparing for, understanding and controlling this inevitable series of retirement transitions.

I find the book to be positive and tightly written, doing an excellent job of blending actual retirement scenarios with sage advice. And I'm convinced that the reason the book comes out so well is because the author, herself a retiree, knows of retirement transitions first hand.

"There is no one retirement story, just as there is no one single retiree and no single retirement path," she says. "Each story differs." But she also tells us that "Transitions are a process over time" and that "there is a structure that cuts across all transitions that can help you take charge."

Part of her advice is to use what she calls the "4 S System" of knowing one's Situation, one's Self, and one's Support as the basis for defining one's Strategies in seeking success via a retirement path.

And she defines five general categories of paths retirees take "as they proceed with the task of getting a new life." These are the "continuers," "adventurers," "searchers," "easy gliders," and "retreaters." Each of these categories is expanded upon and brought to life via stories of actual retirees.

Data for the book comes from interviews with 100 people and several focus groups, blended, as I've said above, with valuable insight collected by the author from her own retirement trek. One example of the latter comes within her initial retirement transition when she finds that "things finally began to gel for me." At that point she is tempted to increase her load of retirement activities and obligations. But, she says, "I do not want to lose sight of the fact that I am retired. I am here to enjoy the sun, beach, nature, dinners out, theater and more."

Here we find the author presumably in a relatively comfortable "resting place" between retirement transitions. And what she is telling us that, when the time comes, she is confidently equipped with transitional tools to use in her continuing quest to "Retire Smart, Retire Happy."

"Only for retirees," she adds, "this life long search is grounded in wisdom and experience."

The author makes a good argument that the management of transitions is the key to being "successful" in retirement. Certainly, managing the first transition from work to retirement is a big one, and gaining tips and insight into how to manage that one can obviously be valuable for new retirees. But for those of us past that transition and feeling good about who we are in retirement, it gives us tools to deal with the continuing stream of transitions that we inevitably face. Thus, this work takes us further along our way in our quest for a successful retirement phase of our lives. As such, it is a valuable addition to the body of worthwhile books on the subject of retirement.

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Information, October 17, 2005

By 

ndenim (OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retire Smart, Retire Happy: Finding Your True Path in Life (Paperback)

I definitely agree with the other reviews in that this little book is well done with a lot of interesting tips and information. Preparing for retirement, emotionally/psychologically managing not being able to retire when initially planned, and actual retirement. My only hesitation with the book is that many of the people interviewed are upper income/upper management retirees. It is sometimes difficult to be able to relate to some of the transition problems/solutions discussed in the book when you're approaching retirement from a middle income/middle management or blue color perspective where finances may make some of the options less viable solutions.

My personal favorite of the retirement books I've read so far is How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free by Ernie Zelinski. However, there is much valuable information included in Retire Smart, Retire Happy making it a worthwhile read for all those about to and already retired.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important and timely information on retirement, January 3, 2004

By 

Charles W. Rahn (Bethesda, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retire Smart, Retire Happy: Finding Your True Path in Life (Paperback)

I read your book with enthusiasm and find it very informative and most helpful in understanding how people from varying backgrounds think about and face retirement. Your book is very timely; there is none other like it. Your book is important because you address real life feelings and concerns in a way that most books do not. You talk about how people feel and think about their past as they face the future and live retirement, how they often discover a self they were not aware of before, how they change, how they cope, how they reinvent and create new fulfilling lives. An important book for all who are retiring or are about to retire.