Into the Unknown

People are seldom neutral in their thoughts on retirement. Some relish the idea and visualise it as a long and carefree holiday. Others view it with anxiety and dread wondering about their financial futures and whether they will be bored as they, 'sit in God's waiting room'. Many are somewhere between these extremes and, quite naturally, are likely to have mixed feelings as the time to retirement comes upon them. 'Into the Unknown; early reflections on retirement' has been written by four retired professional women together with some guest writers. It covers a wide range of areas detailing many of the joys, challenges and newfound freedoms of the recently retired. Its intention is to provide as open and honest accounts as possible of the authors' own experiences and feelings enabling readers to explore their own thinking at this dramatic time in their lives. Such a springboard is designed to help others appreciate that they are not alone and that, despite some of the challenges they might face, retirement can be highly rewarding and fulfilling. The book is divided into three sections. The first are the authors' thoughts on retirement with each of them exploring issues raised by the lead author (Anne Cockburn). Key to these chapters is the way in which the writers discuss the transitions from working life into retirement. Thus, for example, 'Leaving the driving seat' examines some of the emotions and adjustments made from being a leader in the workplace to the adoption of more modest roles in a new daily environment. 'Routines' raises questions surrounding the need for some to have a specific structure to their day while 'Holidays' is a reminder that even the retired can benefit from a change of scene from time to time. The second section of the book features chapters from four guest writers. Chapters 18 and 19 present the thoughts of two people in the very early stages of their retirement and the challenges they face as they mentally endeavour to extricate themselves from many years of paid and highly intensive work. Chapter 20 details the case of Miranda whose retirement took an unexpected turn due to the unanticipated ill health of her husband. Richard Davies is the only male contributor. In his chapter - 'A theory of retirement in six-and-a half M's' - he explains his observations that life is much enhanced if, among other things, one has mates, money (not vast amounts but enough) and moral merriment. His theory was devised without his having read any other of the chapters in the book but clearly resonates with many of the contributions included. The final section is a summary of our thoughts having concluded the book and moved on to the next stage of retirement.