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With Americans living longer, healthier lives, the conventional idea of retirement is obsolete. Millions of Americans are working past the age of sixty-five—not because they have to, but because they want to. Many, like Marika and Howard Stone, discover second careers, start their own businesses, or go back to school. Based on the popular website 2young2retire.com, Too Young to Retire offers inventive and exciting retirement alternatives to help readers find their labors of love, inner activists, or how to make a home away from home. Enlightening exercises and workbook pages as well as a comprehensive list of publications, home exchange organizations, and websites are included to assist readers in making meaningful choices. For those who aren’t ready to throw in the towel, Too Young to Retire is the essential resource for discovering what comes next.
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 A Purpose-Filled Life |
| Review Date: June 14, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Casey Dawes, California |
The book, Too Young to Retire, as well as the Stone's web site and book study groups, is their effort to teach people how to live a life filled with purpose, rather than the emptiness of so many retirees' lives.
The book begins with an introduction to the Stones and how they arrived at the attitude that they did. It then dives right into the largest problem that retirees face - money. If you ask most people approaching retirement age what they fear most about retirement, running out of money is tied with poor health. The Stones tackle the problem face on, correctly stating the "it is much less risky to worry about money than to face the volcanic changes of midlife and beyond." Once the discussion is concluded, they suggest several techniques to put money in its place, including the tried and true method of keeping a daily record of how you spend your money.
Not content with tackling retirement, the Stones next look at the world of work and why work isn't working. They cite many of the same ills that books such as Take Back Your Time discuss: too little vacation, too much pressure, too little fulfillment and more. The book quotes Rutgers University's Heldrich Center for Workforce Development study, "Most workers see their 'retirement' not as a time for leisure and travel, but as an opportunity to do fulfilling work, and find avocation in what they do." The end of the chapter offers methods to work through to who you really are. These are good starting places, but the more hard-core 9-5ers might need a little more work. The Stone's suggestion to hire a personal coach, even for a little while, is a good one.
The book is complete with pages and pages of resources. More can be found at their website.
If retirement is in your future, this book is a great place to begin the process.
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Why Retire when you can Review?
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| Review Date: July 29, 2003 |
| Reviewer: Rebecca Johnson, Washington State |
"It is already clear the 21st Century will demand more of all of us, young or old. The gifts we are given ? longevity, better health, education and financial resources ? come with responsibility. After all, we have inherited and even helped create a world that needs our wisdom, experience, and compassion now."
I've always thought the idea of retiring to be a strange concept. Why would you just give up your entire life? Even if you gave up your job should there not be other interests you would pursue, perhaps even more aggressively than your previous job.
It has been said that a "hobby" is more the man than his "job." I jest not when I say reviewing can be quite a great job/hobby.
The authors explain how to awaken the inner activist or volunteer. Chapter 5 gives a list of 101 Opportunities you could pursue. I know for sure there is a need for professional people who can keep giving their talents to society. Some of the ideas include:
Relocation Specialist
Personal Coach
Home Tutor
Travel Writer
Yoga Teacher
Massage Therapist
Author
Executive chef
Cabaret Singer
You might be thinking, "Hey, those sound more fun than what I'm doing now!" I personally like the "author" and "massage therapist" idea.
The authors explain how life is uncharted territory. How we live in a culture preoccupied with wealth. Are we not living our lives to find our deepest purpose?
The Contents Include:
Money - The Prose of Life
It's Not Working
It Is Working - Volunteering Revisited
101 Opportunities for the Open-Minded
Toward Wellness
Radical Departures
Resources
After you read this book, you will wonder if retirement really represents the "good life."
Well if you take Chapter 7 into account and start traveling the world, this might be just the bliss your soul has been craving. I also "loved" the idea of becoming a care taker. Who would not want to go live in a beautiful location as a property manager?
This book is about living in the moment and seeing your new freedom as an excuse to do exactly what you love.
Creative and Wise!
~The Rebecca Review |
User friendly and packed full of practical offerings
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| Review Date: May 13, 2003 |
| Reviewer: Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D., HerMentorCenter.com, |
| This engaging and informative book offers "how to" action plans, complemented by a wide variety of references and resources. The personal stories let us peek inside, satisfying an innate curiosity and showing us how others deal with change at this stage of life. It's a fast and fun read, but a book that I will refer back to time and time again. |
Inspirational and a Joy to Read
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| Review Date: April 27, 2003 |
| Reviewer: Robert Linneman, Valley Forge, PA |
| A must for people who are approaching (or who have already reached) the so-called retirement age. The book is chock full of thought-provoking advice and ideas. For example, Marika and Howard Stone suggest that the way to be energized and enjoy this new life's passage is through ". . . a priceless, enduring feeling of self worth." Case histories, the writings of others, and their own experiences provide solid suggestions on how to achieve a gratifying transition. And, for each chapter, the authors thoughtfully include references for books, Web sites and other tools. Although you can read this book in one sitting, you'll want to refer back to it time, time and again for a refresher on advice, ideas, and, should you care to delve deeper into any topic, you'll appreciate their carefully selected lists of resources. The authors practice what they preach--they quit their "conventional jobs" several years ago and started a now highly successful Web site... |
Especially for anyone over the age of 62
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| Review Date: September 21, 2003 |
| Reviewer: Midwest Book Review, Oregon, WI USA |
| Motivational speaker Howard Stone and yoga teacher Marika Stone team up in Too Young To Retire: An Off-The-Road Map To The Rest Of Your Life to present readers with a down-to-earth instructional guide which is drawn from the authors own lives as a couple, their research, and several assorted case histories in order to present practical and effective alternatives to retirement -- including stimulating work and community service. From opportunities to earn money or participate in business, to volunteering one's time, to traveling for fun and profit, Too Young To Retire is an exciting and dynamic self-help instructional guide for charting new possibilities for the future and highly recommended reading -- especially for anyone over the age of 62 and not ready for the rocking chair/nursing home slide into oblivion. |
A Reflection on Later Years
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| Review Date: April 24, 2003 |
| Reviewer: Rex Toothman, Tallahassee, FL USA |
| As an 81-year-old male who has enjoyed two additional careers since retiring at age 58, I highly recommend Too Young to Retire to all who have or soon will reach their late 50's. The Stones have done a wonderful job of capturing the advantages of carefully planning those "later years" in a manner that will make those years meaningful and enjoyable. In reflecting on these past 23 years of my own life, I would like to heartily endorse the ideas and techniques suggested in this book. Believe me, they really work! |
Smart, fun, and packed with information
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| Review Date: April 27, 2003 |
| Reviewer: Mary Cole, Madison, NJ United States |
| Too Young to Retire is a feast of fascinating information on how many choices we have as we look to reinvent ourselves during the last third of our lives. From websites to inspiring narratives from others' experiences, there is no end of ways to research new avenues of discovery. All of this is packaged in a very user-friendly book that isn't overwhelming, in spite of the amount of information it offers. As a counselor and life coach working with people undergoing transitions, I loved this book and recommend it to my clients. |
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