Project Renewment: The First Retirement Model for Career Women

For the first time in history, career women — women who have worked outside the home for most of their lives — are retiring. Without role models, they look to one another to face the changes this life transition brings.

Career women from the Baby Boom and pre-Baby Boom, or Silent, generations are approaching retirement. They want to know what it means to suddenly find themselves back inside their homes after having devoted their lives to careers outside of them.

These women are highly skilled, educated and successful.They have achieved visibility, status and influence. And because they are the first large group of American women to define themselves by their work, they have few, if any, models for retirement. Project Renewment will show women that giving up their careers does not mean giving up who they are.

Renewment is a term the authors created as an alternative to the word retirement, which they associated with negative stereotypes and clichés. A combination of retirement and renewal, Renewment suggests optimism and opportunity, growth and self-discovery. Project Renewment is a grassroots movement among women who are close to retirement or recently retired and looking to connect with one another.

The women of Project Renewment believe that retiring is a process of change and increasing self-awareness. As they redirect the commitment and passion previously dedicated to their careers, they transform and reshape their lives. Project Renewment provides these women with an enriched and safe environment in which to explore and confront the challenges that lie ahead as they leave behind a lifetime at the office, hospital, studio or courtroom.

Diverse topics are discussed, such as Who am I without my business card? What if he retires first? What is productivity anyway? Why do I feel guilty reading a book on a Tuesday afternoon? How do I feel about not earning another dollar? Divided into two sections, Project Renewment offers insight and support in a friendly, humorous and meaningful way. The first part of the book addresses the challenges that career women tackle when looking to retire. The second teaches readers how to start and maintain their own Project Renewment group, so they can find support, inspiring relationships and even a few laughs as they look to get the most out of the rest of their lives.

Destined to become the landmark life guide for the 38 million Baby Boomer women facing retirement in the coming years, this groundbreaking book encourages women to deal with the end of their careers and to find a new, more satisfying way of life.

Bernice Bratter, is a licensed marriage and family therapist and an advocate for both women and the aging. In recognition of her leadership in the nonprofit arena, she has received numerous awards including an honorary doctor of law degree from Pepperdine University. She has been featured on 60 Minutes, 20/20 and in Hour Detroit magazine. Helen Dennis, a nationally recognized expert on the issues of aging, employment and retirement, has received awards for her university teaching and contributions to the field of aging. Editor of two books, popular speaker and weekly columnist, she has helped more than ten thousand employees prepare for their retirement. Her expertise is sought by employers, national publications like The Wall Street Journal and such network news programs as ABC's Primetime.

Introduction

PART I

ESSAYS

1. Retirement: Yes or No

2. I Won't Earn Another Dollar

3. Change Is the Norm

4. What Is Productivity Anyway?

5. I Only Cry at the Movies

6. Who Am I Without a Business Card?

7. Addicted to Power

8. Less Steam in My Engine

9. Work and Retirement?

10. Feeling Vulnerable

11. Antiaging or Pro-Aging

12. Is Busy Better?

13. More than the Blues

14. Back to the Kitchen

15. Going It Alone

16. Passion: It's More than a Fruit

17. You Can Always Volunteer

18. What Do I Wear When I Am Not in a Business Suit?

19. Grandchildren: Finding the Balance

20. The Queen of Multitasking Is Taking a Break

21. Dealing with Illness

22. Personal Planning: Is It for Me?

23. What if He Retires First?

24. Play

25. Buying the Plot

26. Forever Guilty

27. Sex: Lest We Forget

28. I Lost My Keys and My Car

29. Pushing Sixty

30. Losing a Mate

31. Honoring Our Wisdom

32. The Illusion of Freedom

33. Connecting to My Soul

34. I Can Leave My House, but Not My Hairdresser

35. Joy

36. With a Little Help from My Friends

37. A Sorority House, Not a Nursing Home

38. Authenticity

PART 2

A GUIDE TO CREATING A PROJECT RENEWMENT GROUP

Appendixes

A: Acknowledgments

B: Women of Project Renewment (1999-2007) — Partial Listing

C: Survey Data from Project Renewment Groups

D: New Member Survey

E: Follow-up Survey

F: Websites

G: Books of Interest

Notes