Retirement Memoirs

In early 2011, a medical event in her father’s life changed everything for author DJ Anderson. With her mother already dead she was forced to face the reality of an accumulation of belongings that had been ongoing since 1954. “I never set out to become an expert in downsizing,” says DJ. But an expert she has nevertheless become. With the overwhelming task of cleaning out her parents’ home, came the need for a plan. Through the lens of her experience, DJ has developed a strategy intended for those still living with all that they have accumulated. She encourages her readers to use her...

A lifetime of plans and dreams are packed into a container and shipped from Los Angeles to a Caribbean island; but for a writer and immigrant from post-WWII Europe, the past is hard to forget and even harder to leave behind. Passage From England is the emotional journey of a man's search for home that interweaves the adventures and tragedies of his childhood in America's 50s and 60s with the experiences of early retirement in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The journey begins in 1956, crossing the Atlantic by ocean liner, arriving in New York Harbor, then traveling by train to the paper-thin ...

THE MAN IN THE TENT is Tony Beardsall’s lively, informative account of his life since moving under canvas at the age of fifty-one. This volume contains parts one to four at a reduced price. Please click on the author’s name to see the description for each part.

When Lyn Slater started her fashion blog, Accidental Icon, at age sixty-one, she discovered that followers were flocking to her account for more than just her A-list style. As Lyn flaunted gray hair, wrinkles, and a megadose of self-acceptance, they found in her an alternative model of older life: someone who defied the stereotypes, refused to become invisible, and showed that all women have the opportunity to be relevant and take major risks at any stage of their life. Youth is not the only time we can be experimental. How to Be Old tells the ten-year story of Lyn’s sixties.

This second edition of the author's popular memoir and guide for living a fulfilling retirement adds significant new material on dealing with the challenges of retirement based on the author's experiences, new interviews and research since the first edition was published. It emphasizes the emotional challenges to retirement, including loneliness, feelings of not being useful, loss of loved ones, relating to loved ones, making new friends, finding a passion, travel, and other ways to make retirement the best time of your life.

After leaving behind the routines of work life, Kevin Ryan sets out on a 4,000-mile journey by bicycle across America to discover who he is after a fulfilling and busy career. From the charming small towns of New England to the vast, rugged landscapes of the Rocky Mountains, this inspiring memoir captures not only the physical adventure but also the deeper, more personal quest for a renewed sense of purpose.

LIFE LIT UP is a light-hearted and informative memoir about an unlikely alliance between two keen photographers. When recently retired widower Mike Hartley meets a young Salvadoran refugee called Carlos on the summit of a Lancashire hill, a friendship fuelled by their common love of photography is born. In this entertaining narrative we follow their progress as Carlos attempts to steer the wealthy Mike away from his obsession with gear acquisition and instil in him an appreciation of the art itself, while Mike strives to improve his young friend’s onerous day to day life. Both men meet ...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to just pick up and ride your motorcycle around this big beautiful country? Hollie lives in Rochester, New York with her husband Bonz. They have been together for over 30 years. With Bonz newly retired and the kids leaving to go off on their own adventures they needed something to reconnect. Join them on their journey through 22 states, many national parks and a couple of biker rallies. Hollie requested three months off work (with no pay), and her employer was gracious enough to allow this. So that was it, June, July and August of 2017 off they ...

In The Rule, legendary trader and hedge fund pioneer Larry Hite recounts his working-class upbringing in Brooklyn as a dyslexic, partially blind kid who was anything but a model student - and how he went on to found and run Mint Investment Management Company, one of the most profitable and largest quantitative hedge funds in the world.

THE RUNNER NEXT DOOR is the amusing, enlightening account of one man’s transition from unhealthy couch potato to successful ultra-runner, all in the space of a year. When Barry moves in next door to Martin, the middle-aged running veteran is far from impressed by the morose, overweight southern bloke who looks so out of place in the affluent seaside town of St Anne’s. The somewhat snobbish narrator assumes Barry to be an incorrigible slob until his astute wife Caroline sees the newcomer marching towards the beach in his vintage tracksuit and trainers. From that moment on Martin is eager...

THE MAN WHO STAYED AT HOME is the entertaining, informative account of one Yorkshireman’s transition from a middlingly motivated worker to a satisfyingly occupied retiree. When Brian Durkin’s long-established plan to retire to the sunny Algarve falls through, he hopes that by developing his existing leisure pursuits he’ll be able to fill his days in a satisfying way. On being grounded only moments after leaving work for the last time, however, a sense of impotence sets in, and he realises that he’ll have to expand his horizons if he doesn’t wish to succumb to loneliness. Among ...

The Art of the Wasted Day is a picaresque travelogue of leisure written from a lifelong enchantment with solitude. Patricia Hampl visits the homes of historic exemplars of ease who made repose a goal, even an art form. She begins with two celebrated 18th-century Irish ladies who ran off to live a life of "retirement" in rural Wales. Her search then leads to Moravia to consider the monk-geneticist, Gregor Mendel, and finally to Bordeaux for Michel Montaigne who retreated from court life to sit in his chateau tower and write about whatever passed through his mind.

Gold painted stones with bible verses and a strange symbol began to appear along the paths of Golden Oaks Retirement Community. Some of the messages were comforting. Others seemed threatening. Residents became fearful about the motives of this mysterious painter. Cate May, 87-year-old resident sleuth, was determined to find out who was painting and distributing these stones. As former social worker, she leaves no stone unturned in her investigation. This is the third book in the Cate May Golden Oaks series. It provides a light-hearted glimpse into the activities in a retirement community as...

*All three books in the series are now available in an omnibus edition under the title THREE MEN IN SPAIN* IT’S NOT ABOUT THE VAN is Harry Storrar’s account of a year spent making multiple trips around Spain with his Belgian wife Laura in their curious camper van, Bambi. After his friend Jeremy described Bambi’s initial north to south journey in THREE MEN IN A VAN, and Geoff followed it up with the extremely imaginative story of his solo adventures in ONE MAN IN A VAN, Laura thought it only right that Harry should complete the cycle by writing a book of his own, with her inestimable ...

THE RELUCTANT EXPAT is Alan Laycock’s light-hearted account of his transition to life in a new country. Alan has no desire to move to Spain, but his sister Cathy and brother-in-law Bernie are going regardless, so he decides to tag along. Despite his initial pessimism, he soon sees that life in their new home has more to offer than he first suspected, and by befriending a pair of local oldies he finds surprising new opportunities opening up to him. A coin dealer by trade and an idler by nature, his new, dynamic attitude surprises Cathy, Bernie and, most of all, himself, as he gets to grips...

George Lopez just hit the half-century mark and the reset button on his life. Newly single and ready to embrace life, George was excited to turn 50. It would be a welcome new phase in his life, a chance to say goodbye to a decade that included a kidney transplant and a divorce. But when he looked around a room full of his childhood friends, all gathered to celebrate his birthday, many now bald or overweight, it suddenly hit him that he was old. What happened? And more importantly, what was

he going to do about it? George learns the hard way that when you turn 50, everything changes.

Discover the untold story of Gene Hackman, Hollywood’s rugged everyman and cinematic icon. Dive into The Everyman’s Hero: The Life and Legacy of Gene Hackman, an in-depth biography that chronicles the extraordinary journey of one of the greatest actors of all time. From his nomadic childhood in Illinois to his Oscar-winning triumphs in The French Connection and Unforgiven, this book unveils the authentic details behind Gene Hackman’s rise to stardom, his versatile career, and his quiet retirement. Written by C.D.

CHANGING PACE IN SPAIN is the entertaining, informative account of one Englishman’s evolution from a fit but placid retiree into a far more dynamic figure. Jim Fairfield has been living in Villajoyosa on the Alicante coast for a year, enjoying life as best he can on his modest pension. Having got to grips with the language to some degree, he begins to feel dissatisfied with his weekly round of walking, cycling and chatting to his new acquaintances and yearns for some chance event to kick-start a more fulfilling life. This occurs on one of his frequent trips to the city, where he ...

In "Completion," Sheila R. Burns-Owens shares her remarkable journey from educator to world traveler, chronicling her adventures across all 50 states of America with her life partner, Willie C. Owens. Sheila's memoir, from traversing the Historic Route 66 to strategizing her visits, offers an intimate look at her life's triumphs and challenges. Born in New York, she reflects on her upbringing in Harlem and the Bronx, her weight loss journey, and her dedication to improving her mental and physical well-being through mindfulness and healthier living. As the founder of #Her2ndStitch, Sheila is...

LIVES ON THE DOLE: THREE DIVERGENT TALES OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN BRITAIN consists of the following three stories: 1 – LIFE ON THE DOLE by FILIUS THOREAU: Filius Thoreau, arch-benefit fraudster and jaunty raconteur, celebrates the silver anniversary of his induction into the world of the workshy with his candid, but not too candid, autobiography in which he celebrates the unique and sinuous path he has steered through the minefield of work-obsessed modern Britain. From the dark days of the Poll Tax through the laissez-faire nineties to the ghastly government work schemes of the new millennium, ...