The Book…

Shortly after I moved to New Hampshire, my son Jon, who is a free-lance writer with six published books to his credit and more on the way, began talking about my writing a book. He felt that lifelong learning for older adults was an important topic, especially given the coming wave of Baby Boomers who were beginning to look at the quality of their life after work.

I knew that the only books about this subject that had been published were more scholarly in nature, written for the most part, by and for educators. A few books about “retirement” for the general public had brief mentions about the value of going back to school, but there was no definitive book out there that I knew about, that focused entirely on this subject. The time seemed right and we began planning.

It took us several months to write up the proposal, which is the way non-fiction books get their start. We submitted the proposal to his agent, who agreed after reading it, that the idea had merit. For almost a year he “shopped” it around to publishers. Then in March, 2005, while we were at the hospital celebrating the birth of my son’s new baby boy, (my second grandson), we heard that a publisher was interested.

Talk about timing! The publishers, Sentient Publications in Boulder, Colorado, wanted to see another chapter or two, and my son had a new baby at home. Wow! But we managed despite his sleepless nights, and sent the additional material off to them.

It was accepted, the contracts were signed and our new book, “Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years,” was now actually going to happen. The first draft was due by October 1, 2005.

Sentient Publications, and I quote here from their web site, “publishes books on cultural creativity, experimental education, transformative spirituality, holistic health, new science, ecology, and a variety of other topics, approached from an integral viewpoint.”

They go on to say, “Our authors are intensely interested in exploring the nature of life from fresh perspectives, addressing life's great questions, and fostering the full expression of the human potential. Sentient Publication's books arise from the spirit of inquiry and the richness of the inherent dialogue between writer and reader.”

It seemed to me they were a perfect match for the book, which is a kind of “transformative, holistic approach to fostering human potential” in one’s later years, as their web site says. It was, after all, conceived and written to inform the Baby Boomers and others about the value lifelong learning can bring to their later years. A user-friendly, easy, breezy read, a kind of guidebook for the After-50 years, the title really says it all.

That title, by the way, underwent several revisions before it became definite. For instance we first called it, “Learning Later, Living Greater: Three Weapons for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years.” Since it was focused on three really strong ways to include lifelong learning in your later years – in the classroom, through educational travel and/or through meaningful community service, this title seemed a good one. But the publisher nixed the term “weapon” and we eventually distilled it down to the one we now have.

Next – Writing the Book

New Hampshire…

In 2001 my husband and I purchased a get-away house in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire and began spending all our free time there. Then, in 2003 my husband took early retirement, while I continued to work for Elderhostel in Boston. By early 2004, however, we made the decision to move permanently to New Hampshire. Giving up a steady paycheck was another very big step outside my comfort zone. But after working out what I hoped would be a suitable arrangement for both Elderhostel and me, we made the big move.

My husband built a beautiful office in our home for my use, one that overlooks the mountains on one side and our high mountain meadow on the other. It’s a far cry from my view of the sides of buildings in Boston. As an independent contractor I continue, thanks to modern technology, to do the exact same work for Elderhostel. No longer an “employee” of the company, however, this frees me up to do other things too– like write a book!

Spreading the word about the value of lifelong learning for older adults has become my passion. Lifelong learning changed my life and I see every day how it changes the lives of people in the programs I work with. When I visit these programs, people always come up to me and relate stories about what a difference being involved in their lifelong learning program has made in their lives. Their accounts are very moving and powerful.

Along with that, over my years with Elderhostel I have been interviewed numerous times by the media and even appeared on a CNN -TV program, thanks to a satellite feed from Boston. Part of my job is to promote the learning in retirement movement in whatever ways I can. While doing that, however, I noticed that many people do not understand the concept of lifelong learning for older adults.

As an example, some members of my own extended family looked at me and asked, “You do what, for whom?” Unfortunately, there are some people out there who think, “Why bother? They’re too old, etc. etc.” There appears to be a great deal of confusion about this entire field. Hence the idea of writing a book was born.

Next – The Book