Product Description

At last - a retirement guide that deals with more than just the financial aspects of life after work. Many people live for their retirement but many others dread it. For the latter it is a time beset with depression, fear, anxiety and a sense of futility. There is no doubt that it can present an enormously stressful turning point in people's lives. However with some practical preparation we can reduce that stress and turn our retirement into the time of opportunity we all really hope it will be. 'The Beginner's Guide to Retirement' exposes the numerous myths that surround this time of our lives and explains why so many people are unprepared for it. It examines the many important areas of life usually overlooked when planning retirement, providing advice on relationships with partners and family, skills in conflict resolution, dealing with issues such as loss, and most importantly, living a full and happy life in retirement. The final chapter deals with one of the most powerful factors influencing retirement-based anxiety, that of maintaining financial stability and maximising existing financial circumstances. The step-by-step authoritative information is universal in its nature, including the final chapter on finance which is specially written to provide guidelines which are effective in any country. This book offers invaluable survival tools to cope with this life change and helps us take control of the rest of our lives.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63003 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

About the Author
Michael Longhurst is a psychologist living in Australia.

Customer Reviews

A valuable study of the psychology of retirement
This is a very good book.

The author, Michael Longhurst, is a psychologist living in Australia but there is very little in his book that is only relevant to Australia. The book is sensible, but unoriginal, on financial matters, physical health, diet and exercise. On the psychology of retirement, however, Longhurst is more than just sensible, he is very strong and insightful.

The strengths of the book include:

1. It is based on the author's findings from a thorough-going study of the emotional experience of 200 retirees. This saves the book from the too personal, or too randomly anecdotal, character of some other books on retirement.

2. The book recognises the very wide ranging psychological implications of retirement, and the seriousness of the psychological difficulties that retired people can face. Longhurst takes a positive, yet sober, approach to problems, with much very practical advice, but without false optimism.

3. In particular, Longhurst highlights the difficulties that can be encountered after an initial "honeymoon" phase that can last as long as a year, and looks at ways in which these difficulties can be addressed, so as to build a happy retirement on firmer foundations.

4. Longhurst is very strong on the pressures that retirement can place on married couples, and on ways in which husband and wife can work to counter the risks of damage to their marriage.

5. Longhurst is also very strong on the management of anxiety, depression and stress. He is realistic about how common these experiences can be among retired people, and pragmatic and purposeful about ways of combating them.

6. Longhurst recommends that retired people seek "purposeful activity", but allows for a wide range of puposeful lifestyles.

This is a clearly written book, full of matter to be chewed and carefully digested. I would strongly recommend it to anyone
approaching retirement or newly retired.