Happy Retirement: The Psychology of Reinvention: A Practical Guide to Planning and Enjoying the Retirement You’ve Earned

by D.K. Publishing

A practical, fully illustrated guide to planning and enjoying retirement, grounded in psychological research.

Retirement can bring immense fulfillment but also can be a source of stress, especially today. Happy Retirement: The Psychology of Reinvention uses psychological research and a unique visual style of infographics and illustrations to provide readers with a retirement roadmap just right for them.

Fully illustrated, with constructive advice for all retirees--whatever the age and circumstances--and inspirational guidance from a wealth of sources, DK's Happy Retirement: The Psychology of Reinvention answers all the questions readers are likely to ask at any stage of retirement.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Psychology

402 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2015

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Tama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chose this book randomly when my retirement was approaching. The book is written in a very easy to read format. I read the Kindle version, which provided a significant amount of links to other topics that were contained within the same book. Therefore, if you were highly interested in a topic, it made it easy to jump to that particular item.

The book provided basic statistics about retirement mostly from the US and the UK. It also provided short snippets of information about various aspects of the psychology of retirement. Was it deep and in the format of a self-help book? No, but it does provide a good overview and even reassurance that one is not going through this experience alone. There were times that I was thinking, "Why did I decide to retire now?" I would pick it up and read for a while.

One topic I found to be very interesting and helpful was the discussion about keeping busy after retirement. The book helps to provide context to the individualization of being busy, but also addresses what many do in retirement - over schedule and have no time to themselves.

[Laurence Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful and intelligent approach

Made me consider many issues as a near retiree. Sources were well considered and thankfully (not that I have a major issue) not totally U.S. centric.

[Jennefer Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very general book. Really designed for the run up to the retirement decision than after it. Was inspirational (a bit!) but I did not really get a lot out of it. I have been semi and totally retired for some 10 years now so maybe it was a bit late to read this!

[Mark Chilcott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed analysis of your options for retirement and offers different perspectives which I found helpful. Easy to read.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

some information not applicable to singles , not post retirement.

[Jeffrey Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.

[Paula Boyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was theoretical as well as practical. There was some redundancy throughout, but I wonder if most people use it as more of a reference book than one to read from cover to cover, as I did. Topics such as readiness for retirement, health/exercise concerns, lifestyle changes, identity issues, hobbies, part-time work, family and friends, building or keeping relationships, grandchildren, caretaking, and moving to a new house were all addressed. It is certainly a comprehensive book with some thoughtful questions to ponder. The authors share research about the topics, pros and cons, and how to find more help. It was easy to read and understand.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am years from retirement age, but this book was recommended because much of the it is relevant to anyone at a big transition point. The book includes most every topic to consider as you plan for and create a new structure for your life as part of retirement / big transition. Constructed of 6 chapters each with a number of 2 page spreads on specific topics, this book has lots of text boxes and other graphic callouts that make it easy to pick up and put down, skimming through fast or slow. It gave me some interesting food for thought.

[Reginald · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting way of looking in the MINDSET for Retirement. I want to re-read this book because it covered so many things, some obvious, yet mostly intriguing things, in the way we'd traditionally think about retirement. I'm living proof that there many choices available for all.

[Timothy Stobbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of interesting bits of information related to retirement, but I personally found the info graphics a bit visually distracting. Still worth the read to make sure you consider all the factors to your retirement plan.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preparatory. "We all face retirement in our own way." first. "Happy retirement is as unique as ourselves and as universal as our humanity." last.

[Nancy Cook-senn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and helpful snippets to address the issues of retirement from planning, money, health, family to time management, goal setting, and dealing with decline.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good advice for retirement planning, and retirement living. Easy to read format - each "chapter" is 2-3 pages. Highlight or flag sections that are relevant to you so you can return to them.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never too early to start planning! I think about retirement every day. My works interferes with my hobbies.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good primer for anyone contemplating retirement.

[Reet · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bunch of platitudes. Barely any of the advice in it was applicable to me, because I am smarter than and different from your average bear.