A Couple's Guide to Happy Retirement And Aging: 15 Keys to Long-Lasting Vitality and Connection

by Sara Yogev

“Wise, practical, wryly good-humored, and immensely helpful, this book is a must-read for the millions of boomers entering retirement age.” —Jane Mansbridge, PhD, Adams Professor, Kennedy School, Harvard UniversityA Couple’s Guide to Happy Retirement is the most comprehensive book devoted entirely to relationship issues in retirement. Not a treatise on money management, this is a much-needed guide to the psychological aspects of retirement and how to make your retirement relationship happy, fruitful, loving, and successful. Written by a psychologist specializing in work and family issues, and drawing from actual accounts from retired couples, this book helps you prepare emotionally for the dramatic life changes during retirement, coaches you to find new purposes to your life beyond work, nurtures the relationship with your companion to strengthen your friendship and love, explores sexuality after retirement and how you can enjoy each other as much as you did as a younger couple, and recommends strategies to successfully deal with differences around money, time together versus apart, housework, and family relationships. It is crucial that couples prepare themselves and their marriages psychologically for what could very well comprise a quarter of their lives. A Couple’s Guide to Retirement shows you how to do that—so that you’ll have the time of your lives.“An extremely helpful perspective in meeting the challenge of aging and retirement, young or older.” —James I. Ausman, MD, PhD, and Carolyn R. Ausman, BSS, executive producers and creators of The Leading Gen®“A wise, optimistic, straightforward, and practical guidebook . . . I highly recommend it.” —William Pinsof, PhD, founder and past president of Family Therapy Institute, Northwestern University

Genres: Nonfiction

416 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2018

Reviews

[Tzilla Elrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read for couples ready to retire. The book explains and demonstrates the physical and emotional challenges of the process of aging and leaving the work force. Great chapters devoted to our current culture of high-tech use and abuse. Drinking and medications issues and ways to keep the spark going in our new age of open options for relationships.

[Ruth Ravid · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for couples about to retire or who have retired already. The book includes many useful and timely suggestions and insights.

[Michelle Vandepol · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the author says, "take the message of this book as more than simply a way to prevent divorce in retirement. The ideas and exercises can also help you maintain a great marriage or make your relationship even better." Yogev, a psychologist specializing in aging and retirement, highlights the rising rate of grey divorce and shows you the factors to fight the odds while truly planning for and arriving at your golden years considering everything from work, hobbies, friendship, civic engagement, sex, household chore equity, and finances. Quizzes and discussion points to talk over with your spouse to prepare well. Highly recommend.

[Raymond Parish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author skillfully integrates self-help, research, theory, and thoughtful exercises for reflection and discussion. She covers all of the emotional adjustments for crafting a vibrant retirement: identity, social life, intimacy, financial transitions, and more. One limitation is, this books centers on hetero couples and, while there is some discussion of diversity, the ideas are most applicable to people with significant careers, stable finances, and traditional relationships. Exceptions are: useful information about dual career couples and co-habitation.

[Christine Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are in a couples relationship, approaching or already in retirement, you must read this book. You will be guided by practical exercises to discuss essential topics that determine your happiness and vitality in retirement. And, sadly but truly, we still have to keep talking about gender differences and accommodations. A great read, especially if we're really tired of discussing how much of life's burdens are borne by women. Here are ways to do something about it.

[Diane Close · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's some good advice for couples navigating retirement, but a lot of it is dated. Best topics revolve around relocation, worst around how men and women "handle" retirement individually. Best for traditional hetero older boomer couples, worst for modern relationships. Hopefully this book will get updated and modernized at some point.

[Cathy Now Retired · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books covers a wide array of topics so there might be some that don't apply (like the section on adult children if you never had children), but there are many things you're sure to find applicable or are good to read just for the information - just in case. I've already been retired for 1.5 years and wish I would have had this book a year or two before I retired.

[Stephanie Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read. Recommend it to anyone about to or recently retired!

[Lauren Hunnicutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best retirement books I’ve ever read. Highly recommend.

[Cheri Graham-Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

well rounded retirement considerations

Great read to prepare for retirement. Appreciated the questions at the end of each chapter to think about and help with planning