Customer Reviews

What Should I Do with the Rest of My Life?: True Stories of Finding Success, Passion, and New Meaning in the Second Half of Life

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What Should I Do with the Rest of My Life? is a compelling and inspirational book. Though non-fiction, author Bruce Frankel has produced a page-turner. The people who animate these true stories are at once ordinary and extraordinary. Each chapter, from one about a housewife who rebels against her authoritarian banker-husband and religious strictures by opening a museum of erotic art, to one about a widower who becomes an award winning writer as he approaches his 100th birthday, is touched by the magic of passionate people who refuse to quit. They are determined to bestow their dreams upon world. In them, we encounter not only ourselves, but our better selves. We mourn their losses and are cheered by their triumphs.

Boomers take heart! Indeed, everyone-- young or old-- struggling in these tough times, should read this book. It left me craving more -- more profiles, more lessons, more hope. This is a great gift book! Mr. Frankel, a sequel, please!

What Should I Do With the Rest of My Life? By Bruce Frankel, is a book that chronicles the lives of people who are well past retirement age, and who are ready to begin what would be the "end" of their lives. It is a difficult idea to write that these people were actually at the end of anything, since they were obviously at the age where anyone would have retired, but they kept going. And found new ways to redefine themselves and who they are, and pick up where they left off looking for the answer to their life's dreams.

We all know that it is possible to pick ourselves up again after a personal loss, a bankruptcy or a tragedy. In these stories there are heart-warming moments and people who had the strength to pursue their lives at any age. There is the story of a teacher who started off as a substitute and went on to teach in schools where she was needed the most. At sixty-eight years old, she is making a difference in the lives of her students. Another story centers on an inventor who had success, then had setbacks because of a mismanagement error at a company she trusted. Eventually she prevailed, but not without some soul searching as to what she really wanted and what success would really be worth to her.

Each story tells of the men and women who overcame the odds, and their stories are an inspiration for us all. In these times of a downturned economy, anyone at any age can learn to reinvent who he or she is to find a new career or a new place in the job market. Success can be found anywhere and it is there for the taking.

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"What Should I Do with the Rest of My Life? True Stories of Finding Success, Passion and New Meaning in the Second Half of Life," is a charming, inspiring look at the lives of 13 individuals who decided in the latter half of their lives to embrace opportunities, as author Bruce Frankel says in his introduction, "that can scarcely be imagined or foretold."

Among the memorable characters in "What Should I Do with the Rest of My Life" is Thomas Dwyer, a former government employee who took up modern dance in his fifties, Alidra Solday, who decided at age 58 (and after recovering from breast cancer) to become a documentary filmmaker, and Loretta Thayer, who was so moved by the events of Sept. 11, 2001, that she decided to fulfill a long-time dream of re-opening a local diner and establishing it once again as a gathering place for folks in her hometown.

Frankel weaves perspective, history and details in and around each of his subjects, including the traumatic events -- illness, death, divorce and more - that shaped these 13 individuals and likely contributed to their pursuit of lifelong learning and growth.

This is the book that could get you off the couch and on the path to whatever dream has eluded you. Pull out your bucket list and get to work.

On the eve of my 45th birthday (as I do on the eve of most birthdays), I am reflecting. The year. The years. The decade. Where did it go?

Bruce Frankel's "What Should I Do With the Rest of My Life?" underscores to all of us that tomorrow will be as full as all our yesterdays. With personal investment into every individual's storyline, Bruce Frankel offers an inspiring capture of thirteen remarkable people in the back part of life.

This is a 'crossroads' read. It's not solely about the latter years of life. It's about mindset. At any age, this read is relevant and uplifting. It will shake the cobwebs off a Gen-Xer as readily as it will a Baby Boomer.

If you're wondering if it might be too late to achieve your goals, or are thinking of giving up on your dreams, please read Bruce Frankel's wonderful and inspiring book, What Should I Do With the Rest of My Life? In it he engagingly captures the stories of thirteen ordinary individuals whose lives took an extraordinary turn in their second half of life: setting and meeting bold new challenges, discovering dazzling gifts, or achieving life-long goals - excelling and in every case making contributions to society in their sixties, seventies, even nineties! These people defy our stereotypes and remind us of what is truly the potential not just of the human spirit, but also the human body and mind.

Take, for example, the unathletic government professional, who took up dance in his fifties, and is performing in an acclaimed dance company in his mid-seventies! Or the State employee who, laid off, got his Ph.D. in psychology at age 60, at 70 did a hospital internship and at 72 became a substance-abuse therapist with a full practice. Or the life-long writer who experienced his very first success and public acclaim in his nineties!

This book wakes us up to the fact that we need to seriously re-think our assumptions. With increasing life expectancy, and new evidence about the brain's plasticity (which Frankel touches on), not to mention the economy's nose-dive, we need to open a window in the closed room to which we have relegated our concept of aging. This is just-in-time good news for us Boomers. If we eat right and exercise, and, above all, believe in the value of our passions, it is truly never too late to bloom!

Many people beginning the so called "third age," wonder the same thing as Bruce Frankel's title: "What Should I Do With the Rest of My Life?"

In the true stories in this book the reader will find an answer, but it may not be the one anticipated. Instead, each story, unique in experience, celebrates ordinary people who became extraordinary through diligence and perseverance to a personal goal late in life, regardless of whether others supported, understood, or even approved of the goal. In describing their stories, the book celebrates the difference each of us can and does make in surprising ways. The book will make an indelible impression on the reader, and may change how the reader views success.

There are thirteen interesting persons in this book whose lives challenge our traditional assumptions about old age. Failures, divorces, religious beliefs can all conspire to make us all feel that there's a limit to what we can expect from our own futures; it doesn't have to be that way. The people in this book didn't know that they were too old to try one more thing --start an erotic art gallery, set up a microfinance program in Ghana or become a sculptor. Each life story begins with the subject as an old person, but the skill of the author is that he breathes life into the young man or woman who is at the heart of each biographical sketch, "What Should I Do With The Rest Of My Life" reads partly like a collection of short stories, partly like a well researched tome about brain plasticity. It's inspirational, but it goes beyond the platitudes of self help books to become a well informed, optimistic, adventuresome book about how the twists and turns of life can lead one to rewarding second, third, fourth careers and many more chances than we feel we are entitled to. It should be required reading for all of us who dismiss old age as a land of diminishing options and dusty realities. In this book there are very well told stories about the young people lurking in all of us, and will change many perceptions about what it means to grow old. It may give us all permission to act as kids again.

If you want to be moved by the strength of the human spirit and inspired by lives well lived, read this book. More than a compilation of stories about people reinventing themselves, it is an invitation to witness people who, regardless of age, circumstances, or the vicissitudes of life, find their ways "home" to their authentic selves and to the experience of unlimited blossoming.

Bruce Frankel's book "What Should I Do With The Rest Of My Life?" should be required reading for everyone who reaches age 50.

As a freelance writer, journalist and author, I applaud's Frankel's collection of stories on people who never celebrated a birthday they couldn't turn positive. As a writer reporting on aging in America for more than three decades, I found many people who like those in Frankel's book, discovered there is real gold to mine in one's second half of life if one ignores all the stereotypes about aging and just gets passionate about life.

Bruce Frankel's engaging, honest new book "What Should I do With the rest of My Life?" is so helpful and uplifting I've already given it to many older friends who've lost their jobs to inspire their second acts. As someone who is already on act four, five and six I can totally relate and appreciate all the hard-won wisdom shared by the author -his mother - and the other people he interviews. A must read for anybody laid off, down-sized or considering going back to school or switching careers.