Welcome to Next Chapter New Life  | Resources for Life Planning

Over 40 Job Search Guide by Gail Geary - Buy at Amazon

If you’re over 40 and have ever been concerned about doing a job search due to age, this book is for you.  The author doesn’t mince words about the fact that attitudes about age exist out in the working world.  With that truth in mind and years as a career counselor, she provides you with good insight and things to do to give you an ageless job search.  There is no facet that she leaves unaddressed, covering the obvious things like an ageless resume, your appearance and attitude.  No, she doesn’t suggest a face lift!  If you have a job search in your future, I suggest you get this book.

The Passion Test by Janet Bray Attwood and Chris Attwood Buy at Amazon

Finally, a book after my own heart. Being the practical person I am, I have longed to read something that took a process approach to discovering your true passions. This book delivers and in a surprising way. In the first half of the book, they mix the “how to’s” of tapping into your passion with a story about Janet, the co-author. This mix is woven very well, to illustrate through the story the process they are telling you to pursue. The second half of the book are interviews with well known authors and business leaders, asking them about their passions and how it all worked for them.

Changing Your Course by Bob and Melinda Blanchard Buy at Amazon

This is a great book to read. It’s simple, easy to understand and as practical as sliced bread. The Blanchard’s have distilled down to 5 steps what it takes to lead a life you love. They tell great, real life stories from their own adventures and others. They are consistent and persistent about making no excuses for living your dreams. They answer the tough questions and don’t mince words. The direction they give addresses real issues that may arise on your path, so this isn’t an impractical pump-you-up read. You would do well to follow their guidance. Put this book at the top of your book list.

Retirement Careers, Combining the Best of Work & Leisure by Deloss L. Marsh
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This is a pretty good book to read. My only caution is that you must overlook some of its out of date reference, since it was published in 1991. The references are good references in general but you may need to Google them for obtaining the websites. The best part of this book is an almost emphatic point about finding meaning through work. I agree with the author, but for people considering retirement, they may think that continuing to work is insane. Keep an open mind! If he hasn’t convinced you in the first chapters, there’s no point in reading the rest. In fact, read the first 6 chapters- you probably know the rest.

Do What You Love for the Rest of Your Life by Bob Griffiths Buy at Amazon

This is a good book for people thinking they need to make a job change but just don’t know what it might be. The author’s own experience with this issue does orient the content to preparing yourself to take a salary reduction. I agree that when facing the uncertainty of a new career that you should lower your debt and create a nest egg to fall back on, but I don’t think you have to automatically assume an income reduction. In fact, I think you could consider an increase. Despite that, he does give you lots of things to think about and insistently has you perform various, useful exercises.

The 7 habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey Buy at Amazon

Stephen Covey’s book is clearly a practical guide on success-based behavior. What he addresses is very suitable for any business environment or personal situation, as it addresses good, effective actions all people should do.

Each habit he outlines builds on the other. He also makes it clear that he even struggles to be in alignment with these habits 100% of the time, which is refreshing to hear. This book is good and I recommend it whole heartedly. I think if we all pursued these habits, the world would be a better place.

Being in Balance by Dr. Wayne Dyer Buy at Amazon

This is a great little book to read like you would eat a potato chip, fast and satisfying. As always, Dr. Dyer, can put into words that for others sound so esoteric that they make no sense only Dyer makes lots of sense. These habits aren’t activities like brushing your teeth; they are ways of thinking and things you can/should do to ensure your thinking is good and support your positive direction. I recommend this book; Keep it in your library so that you can refer back to to help reinforce its messages.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Buy at Amazon

When I conceived the idea of doing book reviews, I hadn’t really thought it would include any fiction books, but this one is fiction. The reason why I thought it so important to put this book in my reviews is because it is a book written all about change and the transition that goes with it. It shows you the struggle you go through to accomplish your dream and how easily it would be to derail yourself. It is a beautifully written book, simple and fast to read, but this book packs a punch without abusing the reader. If you are thinking about pursuing your dream or even a major life change, read this book.

Retire Smart, Retire Happy by Nancy K. Schlossberg Buy at Amazon

This book is devoted to transition both before and after retirement. The book emphasizes patience during your transition. The three things I find most valuable are: 1- Lists of very well thought out transition tips; 2- An outline of four aspects used to determine how large a change retirement has or will be. 3- Four elements for coping with retirement transition including: Your situation, your support, your self and your strategies. Lastly, Chapter 6 talks about Retirement life lessons; there are many stories here to illustrate the points. Worth the read.

What Color is Your Parachute? for Retirement by Richard Bolles and John Nelson
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When planning for retirement, this is a good reference. The first five chapters do not pack much new information with the occasional piece of thoughtful advice but beginning in Chapter 6, the book packs in the beef. Chapter 6 talks about your strengths and outlines three approaches (or elements) for happiness which are very thought provoking. Chapter 7 is valuable in its approaches your social connections and what to expect. Chapter 6 and 7 are worth the price of the whole book.

How to Love your Retirement by Barbara Waxman and Robert Mendelson
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This is a light and fluffy book that contains about 90% quotes or pearls of wisdom from retirees and about 10% of short list of things to think about, smart things to know or do. I think this book is worth reading because the thoughts are worth your time and it goes fast. Of note are pages: 5, 28 76, 113, 117, 161, 171, 180, 187, and 190,191.

My Next Phase by Eric Sundstrom, Randy Burnham and Michael Burnham
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There are only parts of this book that I find useful, they are: pages, 14-18,120-21,153. There is a personality test, that is fairly extensive but the scoring is weird and it doesn’t pull it together effectively for the reader. If one is wanting some self discovery, the test might be helpful as long as you aren’t expecting it to pull together well at the end. The pages highlighted are some good things to consider when starting the task of pulling together your retirement plan, but in general it isn’t strong enough or goes far enough to help someone develop a good, useful plan.

Your Retirement, Your Way by Alan Bernstein and John Trauth Buy at Amazon

Generally this book is very good; I like the outline of goals, strategies and results and the structure of pulling together a plan. The plan template was good but I think a 5 year plan is kind of unrealistic. The personality test is fine, but it doesn’t go far enough to “pull it together” for the reader in terms of what have I learned about myself and how does that apply to my retirement, but it's good for some self discovery, and things to keep in mind going forward. Chapter 8 on Finances is an overview and if the reader wants to really work on their finances for retirement, a book on that topic is probably in order. Chapter 9 on Transition is very weak and generally not useful to the topic, there are whole books and seminars on this topic.

How to retire Happy,Wild and Free by Ernie Zelinski Buy at Amazon

This book is worth the read. Primarily it is a philosophical look at retirement but with a very practical orientation. With a minimum of planning tools, here are tangible exercises to do like a readiness test and a plan for what you would do with yourself and the advice and anecdotes make the points very well. The author believes that you can retire anytime you want, and that how you live is more important than the money and that no matter what, you can make it work.

Retire Retirement by Tamara Erickson Buy at Amazon

The author makes a very compelling case for working rather than retire, assuming not working is how you define retirement. She uses loads of easy to understand data and charts to make her case that the workforce needs you. As well, she analyzes the various generations in addition to Baby Boomers and further makes the case for your role in the workplace. Even if you don’t buy it, Chapter 3 and 5 make superb points about how to figure out what to do and why, as you are considering retirement.

Beating the Age Game by Jack and Phoebe Ballard Buy at Amazon

This is a fairly lightweight book that looks at all the variables one needs to consider as they contemplate retirement. The orientation is toward working and gives good arguments for doing some kind of work, whether full or part time, paid or unpaid. If the reader is just starting the exploration around this topic, it’s a good place to start, but for the person who has plumbed the depths of this topic – it’s not deep enough. It is a good review to ensure you’ve covered all the bases.

Too Young to Retire by Marika and Howard Stone Buy at Amazon

This is a good book to read, if you are unclear about what retirement be defined like for yourself. The Stones give you loads of suggestions and things to consider. The book is full of good “thinking” exercises – to help you think through the different activities and perspectives around this topic. They also provide resources, books and websites to pursue for further research on those same topics. Buy