The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife

The New York Times, April 30, 2011 

Unlike the transition from adolescence to adulthood, managing this process for many is a do-it-yourself project. Marc Freedman, hailed by the New York Times as the voice of aging baby boomers seeking meaningful and sustaining work later in life,” offers a recipe for how we can transform America's coming midlife crisis into a midlife opportunity. Millions of people in their fifties, sixties, and seventies are searching for answers to the question What's next?” and are navigating their way to an entirely new stage of life and work, one that could last as long as midlife. Shifting to a much longer lifespan isn't as easy as it may seem. Drawing on powerful personal stories, The Big Shift provides not only direction but a vision of what it would take to help millions find their footing in a new map of life.

David F. said Very Disappointing - Nothing Helpful in Terms of Taking Action. This was a very disappointing book. Its content could have been summarized in a handful of paragraphs - along the lines of "older adults may prefer changing careers to vegetating in front of the TV for "Very Disappointing - Nothing Helpful in Terms of Taking Action" according to David F.. This was a very disappointing book. Its content could have been summarized in a handful of paragraphs - along the lines of "older adults may prefer changing careers to vegetating in front of the TV for 20 years" - which isn't much of a surprise. Most of the book discussed areas of no practical value, such as lengthy chapters concerning what to call this hypothetically "new" life stage between "midlife career" and "old age". Ultimately, who cares what it's called - what matters is how to continue to contribute throughout life. This book offers no practical guidance or worthwhile insights, just repeti. 0 years" - which isn't much of a surprise. Most of the book discussed areas of no practical value, such as lengthy chapters concerning what to call this hypothetically "new" life stage between "midlife career" and "old age". Ultimately, who cares what it's called - what matters is how to continue to contribute throughout life. This book offers no practical guidance or worthwhile insights, just repeti. Good for Newbies But Not for Solid Info To put this into perspective, I've done a lot of research on this particular subject so my opinions are based on that. If you're new to the subject, it provides a good but not great explanation. However, if you're looking for more than inspiration, then this book is essentially of minimal use. An alternative that's very good is the Encore Career Handbook by the same group.. Good little book for the subject. Bart A. Charlow Not a world-beating best seller here, but a good little book.