Do you dream of retiring and having an easy life, or do you want to just keep going?

I don’t see myself as ever retiring. I’m lucky in that being a writer and working from home I can just keep going. At least until the brain cells seize up!

In my new novel, The Long Marriage, we meet Roger in the first chapter and he has unexpectedly been made redundant at the age of sixty. He had a high-powered job in insurance and was pushed out to make way for a younger man leaving his ego bruised. He certainly wasn’t ready to relax and go fishing!

Sixty is a difficult age to get another job at the same level

But Roger definitely doesn’t feel ready for retirement. He really struggles with life to begin with not knowing what to do. His wife, Ellie, get’s offered a full time position at the estate agency where she works which adds insult to injury. He has to reinvent himself but it takes him a long time to work this out.

A woman I met recently is a young at heart sixty something and is getting divorced. It was good to hear that she is already planning to train to become a humanist celebrant. I admire her enthusiasm for the new life she is embarking on. And I do think that women are better at reinventing themselves in mid-life.

The website Rest Less is great for over fifties who are not ready to retire and have an easy life. They want to rest less and be more active. On their website you can find suitable jobs, courses or volunteering opportunities. And it is free to join.

What about you?

Are you loving your working life or happily retired? Or perhaps your job is super busy and you can’t wait to retire. Leave a comment below and let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

The Long Marriage will be published on the 7th August. If you’d like to read Ellie’s Story, sign up for my Free Short Reads and I will send it to you.

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