Retirement and Its Discontents

Michelle Pannor Silver

Michelle Pannor Silver

Retirement and Its Discontents

Why We Won't Stop Working, Even If We Can

Columbia University Press | 2018

https://doi.org/10.7312/silv18856

Overview
Contents

About this book

Michelle Pannor Silver considers how we confront the mismatch between idealized and actual retirement. She follows doctors, CEOs, elite athletes, professors, and homemakers during their transition to retirement as they struggle to recalibrate their sense of purpose and self-worth.

Author information

SilverMichelle Pannor:

Michelle Pannor Silver is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto. Her work has appeared in Women & Health, Aging & Society, and The Gerontologist, among others. This is her first book.Michelle Pannor Silver is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Health and Society at the University of Toronto.

Reviews

Deborah K. van den Hoonaard, St. Thomas University, author of Qualitative Research in Action:
Retirement and Its Discontents addresses the experience of five different groups’ experience of retirement, with a focus on individuals who have found retirement challenging. This is cutting-edge research particularly because Michelle Silver interviewed members of groups who are often difficult to access, doctors and CEOs, as well as housewives, elite athletes, and professors. By concentrating on how the research participants explain their perspective, Silver demonstrates the diversity in how people experience retirement and makes the case for the decoupling of age and retirement.

Kate de Medeiros, O'Toole Family Professor of Gerontology, Miami University, author of Narrative Gerontology in Research and Practice:
This is a really interesting book—I can't say I've seen anything like it. Obviously well written and well researched in addition to being a great read, it takes an innovative and personal look at a seemingly familiar concept—retirement—and challenges us to think beyond the stereotype of golf courses and loving grandchildren. Instead, it explores the social constructions of identity and work through interviews and examples ranging from physicians to homemakers.

Phyllis Moen, University of Minnesota, Encore Adulthood: Boomers on the Edge of Risk, Renewal, and Purpose:
This extremely well-written, interesting, and informative book gives rich and vivid retrospective accounts by contemporary professional retirees of what was, for them, a jarring transition. The in-depth accounts of people with different occupations are deftly analyzed—revealing both commonalities and differences. Retirement and Its Discontents feels timely, as growing numbers of workers are reaching conventional retirement age. Michelle Silver’s writing style is appealing, and the stories capture and hold the reader’s attention.

Michael Norton, Harvard Business School, coauthor of Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending:
This fascinating read holds insights not only for those on the verge of retirement, but for all of us—in how we think about structuring our work and living our lives.

Teresa Ghilarducci, The New School, author of Rescuing Retirement: A Plan to Guarantee Retirement Security for All Americans:
A convincing analysis of the disquiet among a small group of elders who—despite having money—want to work. Warning! A furtive tear may betray empathy for their deep feelings of abandonment, depression, being a renegade. Silver digs deep for courageous insights into the transition from career to retirement.

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	vii
Preface Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	ix
1. Introduction Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
2. Renegade Retirement and the Greedy Institution: The Doctors Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	21
3. Refined Retirement and Fulfillment Employment: The CEOs Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	57
4. Early Retirement and Resilience: The Elite Athletes Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	91
5. Late Retirement and Working in Place: The Professors Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	127
6. Undefined Retirement and the Retirement Mystique: The Homemakers Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	163
7. Conclusion Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	195
Appendix A. Methodological Overview Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	217
Appendix B. Interview Guide Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	233
Acknowledgments Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	237
Notes Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	239
References Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	251
Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	267

Retirement and Its Discontents

Why We Won't Stop Working, Even If We Can

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