Project Renewment: The First Retirement Model for Career Women (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Helen Dennis (Author), Lahni Baruck (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This guide for retired career women or those about to make this life change starts out coolly but warms up to a friendly support-group style discussion of the psychological pitfalls associated with leaving a life of work. The authors, a psychologist and a workplace-issues expert who founded a networking organization by the title's name, illustrate their approach to retirement as renewal. The book's businesslike title is a bit misleading; chapters are short and punchy and lacking detailed how-tos on the practical points of retirement, such as exit strategies or financial planning. The book's strengths lie in its you're not alone tone, with anonymous anecdotes and quotes from the mostly married, 60-somethings in Project Renewment groups throughout Southern California. Also useful is the book's Guide to Creating a Project Renewment Group, which gives a step-by-step how-to for finding like-minded women at or about to embark on the same life stage. Skeptics may identify this self-help book as a disguise to expand the Renewment brand, but it works on its own terms. Illus. (Mar.)
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Review

"Here is a window on the changes facing career women when they consider retirement. Women are working longer without many models from the past about how to handle the next phase of life. A grassroots effort began in Southern California at meetings held by the authors, where talented, accomplished women discussed alternatives to their work lives and ways of pursuing objectives other than the pursuit of income. These meetings provided the evidence on which the ideas of this book are based. Reading Project Renewment is like getting a 'new set of tires' and driving off in new directions. It results from the wisdom that evolves from considering alternatives to work in the mature years. "

-- James E. Birren, professor emeritus, University of Southern California, and former dean of the Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; 1 edition (March 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743299485
• ISBN-13: 978-0743299480
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #558,875 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three Cheers for Project Renewment, April 27, 2008

By	Robin B. Jacobson (Bethesda MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AHB a man's perspective, April 15, 2008

By	Arthur Berger - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!, May 4, 2008

By	M. F. Gilbert - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.