THE CONTENTED RETIREMENT 

Review by Olive Braman


The Contented Retirement by Stephen McAdam is written for those who are retired or are about to retire and who are looking for intelligent past-times to keep their minds occupied. The value of doing this is illustrated by recent research which found that a number of older people have lost their sense of humour because they have not kept up with news and events and current trends. These findings come as something of a surprise, although most people would accept that the young find things amusing which leave us seniors stone cold.

 

"Use it or lose it " applies to both mental and physical activity and Stephen McAdam suggestions include genealogy, bridge, archaeology, astronomy, storytelling, environmentalism and volunteering.

He offers clear and concise introductions to each subject, in the basics of playing bridge, chess and personal computing and photography; but this is not simply a "how to" book, he gives brief life histories of many of those people who have been eminent these fields, eg Bobby Fischer, Omar Sharif, Garry Kasparov.

In addition he includes the current debates and controversies on global warming and astronomy. He suggests that there are many opportunities for volunteering in, for example, the Red Cross, OXFAM, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Marie Curie Cancer Care, all of which must be familiar to virtually everyone in Great Britain. It would have been interesting to have learned about less well known voluntary organisation.

Nor did the book convey the satisfaction, excitement and fun which people can find in the pursuance of their varied activities as well as the opportunity they offer for making new friends and a fuller life. I would have liked to have had personal stories of individuals enthusing about their passion and what it means to them.

Although he does give several book titles which can provide more information, it would have been even more helpful if he had included the names and contacts of national organisations such as the Federation of Family History Societies which has 200 affiliated societies world wide. For those who would like to become volunteers, REACH offers an excellent matching service which will make best use of their individual abilities, SAGA and others offer the possibility of volunteering abroad. All of these have accessible websites.

There are occasional infelicities of style. He concludes in Chapter 10 on volunteering by saying, "If you are a person of means, without deserving descendants, why not plan on the engrossing and satisfying retirement activity in doing something for others with your own estate in an action which is effectively also ultimately a tax-saving measure?" He does not tell us what this is or how to do it. It feels as if a paragraph has been mislaid.

Chapter 11 on telling stories to grandchildren seemed to me a total waste of time. I find it hard to believe that any adult need to have the stories of Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White spelled out for them. Mr McAdam needs to be wary of condescending to his readers.

However, if you do want a "happy ever after" retirement, this book could be of value to anyone wondering what to do with their lives following the cessation of paid work. If he introduces even one person to an un-thought-of and enjoyable activity he will have succeeded admirably.

THE CONTENTED RETIREMENT by STEPHEN MCADAM;

MELROSE BOOKS; £13.99 ISBN1-905226-76-4


 

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