“Encore” is a great read for the large number of baby boomers approaching retirement and wondering “what now?” Freedman describes the concept of a career after retirement this way: “The encore career is not a retirement job. It's not a transitional phase. It's not a bridge between the end of real work and the beginning of real leisure. It's not leftover time to be killed. It's an entire stage of life and work – a destination and a category of work unto itself.”
The stories of people in search of finding purpose and making a contribution in the second half of their lives are truly inspiring. Although I am not of that generation, I gained great insights into how to help people discover new avenues to use their talents and experience in ways that are not only beneficial to them but to their community as well. I realized that as Freedman put it, “Sixty isn't the new forty, or the new thirty. It's the new sixty.” If you are trying to figure out what to do with your life now that you are grown up, this book offers great advice, guidance, and real-life examples of encore careers and the satisfaction they bring.