BOOK RESOURCES

Who doesn’t love Dr. Seuss? This book puts life in perspective. "Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won." Share it with your grandchildren or others in the next generations, or hide it in the back of your closet and read it when you need a little motivation to be reminded of all the great things ahead.

This is an easy, engaging read with which many of us can identify. The case studies bring the “new world” to life in people we can identify with. Corbett is a pioneer in the field of “what shall we do with the rest of our lives?” As a result knows the people and their processes – each person doing it his/her own way.

This book and Susanne Braun Levine’s (below) are quick reads and totally get at the core of midlife transition for many women. If you’re a woman, in or approaching midlife, you are likely to find a good deal of what you want or need in either or both of these books. Both highly recommended.

If you look at the publication dates of the books in this section, you’ll see Hudson and McLean’s book makes them pioneers. Some of these books are more male or female oriented – this is great for both genders and a couple will make good use of it as well.

This is a book I pick up when I need “a little something” to manage my own challenges, be it a change, a transition, an obstacle. Sadler’s six useful principles reflect the paradoxical nature of life – and paradoxes are not easy. In naming these paradoxes, e.g., “develop realistic optimism”, he both validates life’s challenges and helps us make healthy choices.

This book might be called “the primer” of all of these books. You’ll read it in one sitting and get all the major road signs on this journey we’re all taking. Congratulations to Howard and Marika for showing us “less is more”.

Great stories, good journalism, a nice read; like Braun and Davidson, we can identify with the people in this book and be inspired by them as well.

William Bridges is a guru of “transition”. I highly recommend all of his books. If you want to read just one, begin with 2001 in which Bridges brings together the “theory” of the original work with his own life challenges. It is simple but not easy. It is deep. I have recommended these books to many people who universally find them useful. Change and transition are different things. They are both challenging and often precede great things.

Arrien Angeles was the winner of the 2007 Nautilus Award for the best book in the category of aging for this book. She says the following about The Second Half of Life: In every culture, in every age, there is a turning point in human life. At this threshold, when you see fewer days ahead than have already passed, you begin the greatest adventure: the second half of your life. She retrieves the world's vital wisdom teachings that have opened people at mid-life to the deeper mysteries of who we really are, and why we are truly here. This book provides an excellent structure for people in this phase of life to delve into their own issues with others in a group setting.

In this book, Gene Cohen, psychiatrist and gerontologist, argues there are positive changes taking place in our minds, not despite aging, but because of it. Based on years of scientific research and in-depth interviews with older adults, he discusses how the mind flourishes well into the second half of life. Further, he presents his four-phase framework of adult development that will “speak to you”, and within which, you will see yourself. This book is a rare combination of being both easily accessible and providing all of us a theoretical framework of who we are, and how we grow and develop in the second half of our lives. Put this book at the top of your list. Also, see Cohen’s --The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life published in 2000 by Harper Collins.

Erik H. Erikson was a pioneer in setting forth adult development theory as part of his eight stages of the psychosocial life cycle in his landmark Childhood and Society. He was aware there was much to understand about adult development and asked his students, one of whom was Gene Cohen, to continue his work. Cohen’s work (above) is, in part, an outcome of Erikson’s encouragement.

James Hollis, Ph.D., is a writer and a Jungian analyst. www.jameshollis.net This book is not an easy read. It is deep, challenging and, for me, it has been a labor of love to read and then re-read favorite passages. In sharing this information with you, my thought is – the title says it all – but not really. Finding meaning in the second half of life is what I think we are seeking --- why else are you on this website?

Erikson coined the term Generativity meaning “concern in establishing and guiding the next generation” or “responsibility for others”. It is a central concept in his 7th stage of the life cycle and to me, a lens through which one can view (and live) midlife and beyond. Where Bridges is a “transition guru”, Dan McAdams at Northwestern University, is in my view, “Dr. Generativity”. He and his colleagues have researched and written many text books about the concept. This book dissects the complex concept in the context of adult development.

“Who are we as Americans? What is our deep identity? How do we make a good life? McAdams suggests the key to American identity lies in the stories we live by. And the most powerful life story in America today is the story of redemption. On a broad societal scale and in our own private lives, we want first and foremost to transform our suffering into a positive emotional state, to move from pain and peril to redemption. American identity is the redemptive self. Based on ten years of research on the life stories of especially caring and productive American adults, The Redemptive Self explores the psychological and cultural dynamics of the stories Americans tell to make sense of who they are. Among the most eloquent tellers of redemptive stories are those midlife adults who are especially committed to their careers, their families, and making a positive difference in the world. These highly "generative" men and women embrace the negative things that happen to them, for it is by transforming the bad into good that they are able to move forward in life and ultimately leave something positive behind. The Redemptive Self encourages us to examine our lives and our stories in full, to apprehend both the good and the bad in the stories we live by. By doing so, we may fashion better stories and better lives for the future.” I love this book.

Rowe, John W. and Kahn, Robert L. (1998). Successful Aging. Pantheon Press.

Vaillant George E. (2002). Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life Boston: Little, Brown.

Kinder, George. (2000). Seven Stages of Money Maturity: Understanding the Spirit and Value of Money in Your Life. Dell Publishing.

Ruffenach, G., and Kelley Greene. (2007). Walll Street Journal Complete Retirement Guidebook: How to Plan It, Live It and Enjoy It. Crown Publishing Group.

In this book, John Kotre www.johnkotre.com reveals generativity as the underlying motivation to the legacies we create. Our legacies, each as unique as a grain of sand, give meaning to our lives.

To order this excellent resource, visit www.yourethicalwill.com/index.html As the website tell us, this “guidebook provides a comfortable, five step path for you, or a loved one, to create an Ethical Will. Thoughtful questions are followed by excellent prompts, multiple examples and a lot of space to jot down your ideas and thoughts as they come to you. The guide enables you to: 1) Clarify your intentions and focus, 2) Shape your words and messages, 3) Manage a large volume of potential material, 4) Develop a structure to follow as you compose your letter on separate paper, and 5) Complete the most meaningful letter you will ever write”.

This book, recently published, is an instant classic. Marc Freedman is the founder and CEO of Civic Ventures www.civicventures.org and an social innovator whose time has come. If living purposefully is your goal, you will want to read this book.

Connie Goldman says “this book contains the thoughts, experiences, and feelings of fifty-two public figures”, e.g., Willie Nelson, Mary Catherine Bateson, Ossie Davis, May Sarton, Norman Cousins, Rollo May. In it, Bella Lewinsky, a dancer, choreographer and teacher said: “I must confess that, except for the nagging little physical things, I find this age absolutely treasurable. I love being my age. How old am I? I’m seventy-four. No, seventy-five. Oh, I’m not quite sure. Who care! (Laughs)” This book is a great gift to yourself or others. Read three pages at a time, one person at a time, once a day. Thanks to Connie Goldman for pulling together and sharing the wisdom.

Per the promotional material: “In Still Here, Ram Dass helps us explore the joy, pain, and opportunities of the ripening seasons of our lives. Writing with his trademark humor and wisdom, sharing stories from his own life, and meditation exercises to integrate the teachings into daily life, Ram Dass offers us a new perspective on the territory that lies ahead. It is a perspective on aging, changing, and dying that he hopes will make the tumultuous process a little easier for all of us.” This book is a good choice to gain perspective on change, life, challenges – humanity.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi is one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement. In this book, he provides guidance in the form of spiritual practice and transformation. As you’ll read in the book (this and more) he teaches readers how to use their life experiences to enrich their elder years, face mortality, repair relationships, develop a regenerative spirit and transmit wisdom to future generations. He is a beautiful spirit and that comes across in all he writes. This book is for people of all religions.