Second Wind: Navigating the Passage to a Slower, Deeper, and More Connected Life

by Bill Thomas

How do you know that you are outgrowing adulthood?

When you begin to feel that the life you have been living is out of balance; when the need to perform, to hurry, and to acquire is no longer compelling. It's like the moment when your favorite tennis shoes start to give you blisters. The way you've been living your adult life doesn't fulfill you anymore.

Dr. Bill Thomas, one of the most innovative thinkers in medicine, explains that a new life phase is beginning to emerge within our society. When the Baby Boom generation came of age in the 1960s and 1970s, they jump-started a cultural revolution that shaped today's society. Now, many feel they are living a life of frenzied disharmony. This out-of-balance feeling is a signal that you are ready for your second coming of age, your life beyond adulthood. Second Wind illuminates how to recognize and navigate the most challenging and fulfilling developmental stage of life.

Life can and should be reimagined. New ways of living and working are waiting to be discovered on the far side of adulthood. Dr. Thomas treats the Baby Boom generation as he would one of his patients, sympathetically exploring its history before recommending a path toward a life rich with developmental opportunities. Predicting that Boomers will choose the path of the Denialist, the Realist, or the Enthusiast, he discusses the behaviors and attitudes that will provide new and more nourishing fuel for the rest of life’s journey: hope and a renewed sense of all that is possible.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health

336 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2014

About the author

Dr. Bill Thomas is an author, entrepreneur, musician, teacher, farmer and physician whose wide-ranging work explores the terrain of human aging. Best known for his health care system innovations, he is the founder of a global non-profit (The Eden Alternative) which works to improve the care provided to older people. He is the creator of The Green House® which Provider Magazine has called the “pinnacle of culture change.” Dr. Thomas also developed the Senior ER model of care and is now working to transform the acute care services provided to elders.

Reviews

[Clif Hostetler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a combination history of the “baby boom generation” and speculation about its future. The book describes how this generation burst upon the cultural/political scene in the 60s and 70s with a show of art and creativity (i.e. hippies) and environmental and political activism (i.e. anti-pollution and anti-Vietnam war). The hippie strand promised the “Age of Aquarius” full of harmony and understanding. The activist side promised a greener world free of nationalistic wars. The promise did not come to pass.

What went wrong? We got instead a shift toward conservative politics and a drive toward ultra efficiency in the business world at the cost of worker loyalty. The conservative politics is best demonstrated by the advent of President Regan and his political successors. The push toward ultra efficiency in the business world is represented by Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The author, Bill Thomas, considers both to be negative outcomes for a generation that showed much promise in its early years. The book includes an extended and thorough criticism of Covey’s “Seven Habits” movement going so far as to call it a cult.

Thomas then explores what the future holds for the “baby boom generation” as it heads into retirement--the author prefers the term “elderhood”. Will the generation live up to its potential and enter this phase of life with enthusiasm? Or is it going to waste its energy in an effort to ignore of the effects of aging or focusing on the negative and inevitable aspects of losses due to aging?

Thomas is a cheerleader for the enthusiastic entrance into and acceptance of “elderhood.” Below are some quotations that indicate his understanding of the potential of “elderhood.”

I will make a simple promise. In the chapters that follow, I will surrender caution and introduce you without reservation to a secret world. It is a place where elders hold their heads hight, where age functions as a virtue that is capable of great and wondrous things, where the slings and arrows of ageism fall harmlessly to the ground.
......
Elders and sages, rightly understood, are much more than aged people. They are heirs to a social status rich in honor and dignity. they are agents of change, guardians of both our past and our future. They are what we may yet become.
.....
Elderhood asks if we are willing to accept the fact that we are mortal and rewards those who are willing to do so with a lightness of being known only to those who have lost their fear of death.
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Elders have access to a reservoir of feelings and access to a level of emotional control and insight that far exceeds that available to adults. They also possess a depth that younger people would do well to emulate. Finally, elders are able to pivot away from the extrinsic outcome oriented measures of value and toward a moment-to-moment appreciation for being with others.

There were some things about the book that didn’t work for me. Thomas invents numerous new words or perhaps new meanings for words which I’m not very enthusiastic about. He also is quick to classify people into different categories which is probably necessary but didn’t quite fit my understanding of reality. I thought his condemnation of Stephen Covey was a bit overdone. He also introduced several fictional characters in the book to provide examples with which the readers can identify. The author was wise enough to clearly indicate the fictional parts with italicized letters. But it turns out that I couldn’t identify closely with any of the fictional characters.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

2014 Second Wind: navigating the passage to a slower, deeper, and more connected life. Bill Thomas, MD. Simon & Schuster. 2014.
Bill Thomas is a visionary. He is able to discern patterns and come to conclusions that most of us would not think of. Granted, many also would not agree with his conclusions. Second Wind focuses on the Boomer generation, those who were born between 1946 and 1964 and are now aging, and for the most part resisting leaving the stage of adulthood and entering the stage of elderhood. They don’t want to grow old. He proceeds by considering First and Second Crucibles, defining crucible as “a test or severe trial brought about by the confluences of cultural, economic and political forces within a society.” As the post-war babies moved towards adulthood, they gravitated towards what Thomas defines as Squares, Activists or Hippies. The majorities became his definition of Squares who were resistant to change, were reliable, and worked hard, focusing on their individuality and their immediate families. Thomas feels that Steven Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Effective People,strongly influenced the postwar culture .The Activists and the Hippies were able to bring about some social change and often were the entrepreneurs and those who seeded technology. However, they ultimately faded into the background or were absorbed by the Squares. The Squares or the Establishment have dominated the Second Crucible, post-war adulthood.
Thomas’ use of the lives of four fictional Boomers as well as historical events which occurred during certain years following their births carries us from his theory to reality in time. Once a timeline is established, his focus moves to the difficulty most Boomers have in growing from adulthood on to the next legitimate stage of life, Elderhood. At this time, Thomas writes, Boomers are moving into one of three subcultures: Denialists, Realists and Enthusiasts. [Thomas has used his self-created words such as Denialist in previous writing]
Denialists, as one can surmise, are those who are holding off the reality of aging at any cost and with any method. Realists are those who acknowledge that they are growing older, dislike the concept of aging and fight against the inevitable. Enthusiasts, on the other hand, a small minority of Boomers, “openly acknowledge the difficulties that lie ahead but are also eager to explore the new opportunities for growth that the passage of time brings into their lives.” Much of the second half of Second Wind endorses an Enthusiast point of view. Most Boomers accept that they are getting older. They just don’t want to age. Industries have been built upon this wishful thinking.
Just as children become teens; just as teens become young adults; just as young adults become older adults, older adults need to become elders in order to give a hands-up to the next generation. Even more important, is how conscious elders or Sages can reach out to children, two and three generations behind them. Thomas suggests, “stop pining for what is already gone… start searching for the person you were meant to become.”
Those already accepting their elderhood slow down, have time to connect, time to consider the big questions, time tocare for others. “Age endows elders with unique perspectives on time, money, faith, childhood, and relationships that cannot be gained by any other means.”
Thomas has written another clear, well researched book which needs to be widely read and discussed.

[Brent Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summarizing Dr. Bill Thomas's ambitious new book, "Second Wind," is challenging even though it is not complicated to read. Thomas writes using accessible language, stories and anecdotes with almost every page conveying interesting, creative insights. The reviewing difficulty lies in the book's breadth and depth. This treatise is an amalgamation of history, science, social commentary, environmentalism, medicine, generational sociology, economics, public policies, gerontology, politics, and demography.

The seedtime for Boomer aging began in the generation's formative years. Early in the book, Thomas divides the 76-million-member generation into three subcultures that became manifest during a coming-of-age transition from adolescence to adulthood.

"Hippies" represented the smallest segment of the generation--less than 0.02 percent according to the author--but had the most impact on the counterculture celebrated during the 1960s and 1970s through art, literature, theater, music, and popular culture. This was an unexpected subculture oriented toward postponing full maturation typical of older generations, a discordant stage between childhood and adulthood.

"Activists" embraced the possibilities of invention and entrepreneurialism while "suspended between fervent idealism and a genuine grown-up taste for opportunity and success." To personify this segment, one might think of Howard Schultz, the founder and reigning CEO of Starbucks, who realized colossal business success by popularizing gourmet coffee shops while holding onto idealistic values for productive social and economic changes.

"Squares" dominated a subculture that embraced conservative ideologies and free-market capitalism, in one sense a reaction to the Hippie cultural hegemony. To analyze this segment, Thomas examines the vast influence of author Stephen Covey and his mega-bestseller, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People."

In his critique, Thomas is hardly generous about Covey's views:

"The Seven Habits is in fact that most frightening and dangerous species of writing, a hermetically sealed system of thought whose ultimate authority depends solely on the author's personal beliefs, faith, and feelings, while at the same time posing as an impartial moral arbiter for society as a whole."

Covey's writing and disproportionate influence on cultural values served to "... redefine the sources of success away from the ideals of shared sacrifice and cooperation and toward a new and terribly impoverished concept of individual effectiveness."

Thomas declares that the Squares triumphed over the other subcultures. Squares harshly criticized those who placed shared actions and community above individual initiative and the primacy of free-market capitalism, "a contemptuous dismissal of the moral and practical value of collective action in pursuit of a common good."

Squares not only became an industrious segment of the generation, partially represented by those who started and built companies that today dominate the business landscape, they fostered a cultural narrative that was youth-focused and bound by adult values, the "cult of adulthood," which "has been defining the contours of American life for nearly four decades. Its long tenure as the axis around which our culture turns has primed us with the belief that its tenets are both inevitable and infallible."

Squares "set out to celebrate the virtues associated with being young adults. In this way, youth became the most important interpretive lens of the postwar generation." And youth is the prevailing norm today as the children of Boomers--the Millennial Generation--ascends from adolescence into adulthood. The youth-supreme narrative that Boomers celebrated is also the source of their disenfranchisement and consternation today as they have aged well beyond youth.

Thus, contemporary society recognizes only two primary life stages: childhood--with a pass through adolescence--and adulthood. There is no place for another stage beyond adulthood, a stage of elderhood, and this realization points at the mission of Thomas's determined manuscript: to fully articulate the framework for a new and legitimatized life stage and to inspire significant numbers from the Boomer generation to embrace this unexamined way of living beyond adulthood, their second wind.

With respect to Boomer aging, Thomas describes three emerging subcultures that will result from generational aging. In some interesting ways, these new subcultures correlate with the three segments the author delineates as representative of the generation in youth.

"Denialists" look at aging as a scientific problem that can be solved. They constitute the core customers of the anti-aging industry. They hold on to their youthful values and self-images, refusing to recognize the inexorable impact of biological aging. "The Denialists are (and will continue to be) the most vociferous of these subcultures. Members of this subculture loudly and proudly reject the changes that come with aging and embrace an alternative narrative that posits a future where one can be forever young." They also foment ageism.

"Realists" are more measured. Boomers in this subculture are "those who ... pride themselves on their willingness to admit that they are, in fact, changing. They see (and dislike) the changes that come with the passage of years and they are committed to actively resisting those changes." They seek liberation from the pains, disabilities, and tribulations that come with aging, but they understand that "aging includes significant decline-related difficulties." They are less inclined to be manipulated by unrealistic promises from unscrupulous anti-aging product companies, but they are willing to pursue alternative therapies that have proven to be effective, even in the short term.

"Enthusiasts" not only accept biological aging; they recognize that life beyond middle age requires a new set of values and behaviors that are distinct from the "cult of adulthood." They realize that aging means letting go. To convey this emerging subculture, Thomas presents the words of actor and filmmaker Josiah Polhemus who tidily summarizes the Enthusiasts' creed: "As I grow older, the outer world of appearance, prestige and perfection, all influences from outside sources, lessen; the inner world of imagination, gratitude and tolerance strengthen and keep me seeking wisdom and more breath."

While Enthusiasts understand that aging includes difficulties due to decline, they propose to change the cultural narrative, to disassociate aging from decline. They hope to change debilitating connotations of aging, to confront ageism wherever it lurks, to advance cultural acceptance of those who are old, and to create new values for a time of life Thomas summarizes in his book's title as "second wind."

Dr. Thomas is realistic about how difficult it will be to change the dominating ideologies of Squares/Denialists, but he's also hopeful that with adequate thought leadership and inspired activism, the generation that influenced so many important social changes in its youth will transform mainstream value consensus around the purpose and meaning of aging. Rather than fear or despise aging, society will once again learn to commemorate its oldest citizens, providing new pathways for relevant engagement and late-life contributions.

Thomas is certainly doing his part with "Second Wind" by providing an intellectual feast about the possibilities for life after adulthood. He ties the future to the past with his observation that "although ... the Enthusiasts do not look like, act like, or sound like Hippies, they do share the Hippies' rejection of adulthood as the only meaningful framework for organizing one's life and sense of self."

Thomas further asserts that the long-term well-being of society depends on Enthusiasts bringing this new life-stage to the forefront. And, as the geriatrician warns, their failure to change the meaning of aging may foretell the Denialists triumph, delivering "us into a new era that was defined, nearly exclusively, by the fear of growing old." Ageism and all its nasty side effects will dominate.

While the author has undertaken an impressive exploration of the Boomer generation's youth, middle years, and aging, he is not immune to shaping his thoughts around a questionable premise. "History is not a collection of details," he insists. "It is an argument about what the details mean."

Early in the book he emphatically concludes: "Yippie party founder Jerry Rubin insisted that people over thirty should not be trusted and millions agreed with him."

The idea of not trusting anyone over thirty is a mythic generational caricature that has been encoded as if fact. In one of my books, I call this phenomenon "media mobilization of bias."

The "Never trust anyone over thirty" taunt was uttered by Silent Generation member Jack Weinberg in 1965 during an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. Leader of the Free Speech Movement at The University of California, Berkeley, Weinberg uttered this sharp retort in reply to a reporter's insistence that older adults were manipulating his organization. He thought of his comment as purely cynical, and this snap at a reporter did not become the summary mantra of a generation.

Frankly, most Boomers did not believe in the silliness of this idea. We knew thirty was inevitable--and, in many ways, desirable. As we matured, we had admired and trusted many people past thirty, including a president, John F. Kennedy; his brother, Bobby Kennedy; and a martyred activist, Martin Luther King. The aphorism became a popular media stereotype of Boomers to dramatize succinctly the generation's countercultural defiance around more serious issues such as racism, sexism, governmental cover-ups, and environmental destruction.

Notwithstanding this single imprecise recounting of a threadbare cliché, Dr. Bill Thomas deserves generous accolades for his thought-provoking and motivating book. As he acknowledges, "... it is actually fantastically difficult to go beyond and then actively question the foundational belief of one's own culture." Yet he has done this with clarity, passion, and profound insights.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the premise--the importance of making room for elders, for including them in communities instead of shuffling them off to assisted living and nursing homes. Some of the theory was also interesting...the idea that the baby boomers, some of whom followed in their parents' footsteps, others who became activists, and still others who became hippies are going to go through similar changes as they leave "adulthood" and move into "elderhood." I've always fallen into thinking of life stages as: infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood, with adulthood split into young adults, middle age and old age. Thomas sees it differently and his views are interesting as is the chapter on alternative ways of living into elderhood. I have to admit though, much of the writing felt repetitive, or maybe just flat. I found myself skimming at times. There's a new book out about life stages...I'd love to see how it compares. It's about people wanting stay young forever...Peter Pan syndrome kind of thing. It would be interesting to see these authors in dialogue with each other.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book to everyone over thirty and especially to those over fifty.

Dr. Thomas explores the baby boomer generation (1945 - 1964) and the changes in our western culture that took place when that generation grew from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. He suggests that we are now in another period of major cultural change, which will be influenced by the same generation's struggle to grow from adulthood into elderhood.

[Dalyn Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second Wind: Navigating the Passage to a Slower, Deeper, and More Connected Life is an insightful and profoundly reflective exploration of life beyond adulthood. Dr. Bill Thomas masterfully examines the transitional phase many experience as they realize their previous routines, ambitions, and societal expectations no longer satisfy their inner needs. By blending keen observations with practical guidance, he illuminates a path toward a slower, more meaningful existence one that prioritizes connection, self awareness, and purposeful living. This book is both timely and enduring, offering wisdom for those seeking to realign their lives with authenticity, balance, and renewed energy.

[Claudia Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

I frankly didn't finish the book. It was not what I was expecting, and though it went into great detail about what Boomers went through, by the time I gave up on it, it was not looking to the future. So, I gave up.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encourages us to see elderhood as a distinct 3rd stage of life. First half of the book is outstanding, second not so much.

[Sheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second read of this book. It’s a fascinating account of how the boomer generation has shaped the culture of the US from the late 40’s to almost current.

[Jaci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Bill Thomas has written a history of the Baby Boom generation and how they are handling the final stages of life. He groups Boomers into Denialists, Realists, and Enthusiasts, as they face aging and marginalization.
His mention of Frederick Taylor and his The Principles of Scientific management in 1911, has some following in Soviet post-revolutionary literature. In this case, it is noted to be the beginning of the American "efficiency" revolution, part of American culture.
He also covers the Prosperity Gospel (the Bible as a contract with contractual obligations by God to keep his promises), Stephen Covey's Mormon faith, the age distribution of psychological well-being, aging in place, and spiritual eldering.
There's a lot thrown in to this, some of it hardly pushing one to embrace aging, and some just being generalities that don't apply. It is an interesting overview of my generation, however.*
p.251: "In contemporary American society people rarely encounter or maintain relationships with elders who are not also close relatives. As a result, millions are denied access to the emotional honesty and foresight of people who are able to imagine and accept the idea of their own death."

[Cay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had heard Bill Thomas speak and was expecting great things from this book, but ultimately I was a little disappointed. I was waiting for him to provide some guidance as to what I should be I should be doing with my life as I find myself on the cusp of the final third. He didn't provide much. There was, however, an interesting overview and analysis of the Baby Boom generation and the various sociological groups within it. I also liked what he said about Elders and their role (or missing role) in our society. As interesting as parts of this book were, it didn't give me what I was looking for.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are interested in the history of baby boomers this is a good book for you. He reviews the happenings that impacted my generation and draws conclusions as to why we turned out the way we did. However, I found the title misleading and thought the book would supply more guidance as we baby boomers face old age.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite enjoyed this, especially the latter part where Thomas goes into what we old farts are facing at this time of life.
His take on the post-war babies coming to adulthood is interesting, but I don't have a clue as to its accuracy.
This is important for those of us blessed to begin aging to let go of what should be released and take on a new time in life.

[Burky Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this book was indecisive. It presented the good and the bad in social conservatives (Squares) and in liberals (Activeists). It pictured a world of starry-eyed ideals and presented a lecture in how the old should be respected. Nowhere did I get any practical suggestions about how make my last years valuable to others, and therefore valuable to me.

[Shirley · Rating 1 out of 5]

A hodge podge of gibberish.

[Sandra Lederman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE reading!

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skimmed more than read - I had heard/read similar ideas.

interesting , not essential reading

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book was a challenge for me. I agreed with most of the message but it was presented in such a negative way.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

wisdom for us all as we move through life.

[Amie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing book. I had high hopes for the author but I probably should have started with one of his more well-known books, The Eden Alternative.

[Judy]

Interesting reading to challenge assumptions about aging.