Synopses & Reviews
The movement of millions of sixty-somethings into a new phase in their working lives constitutes one of the most significant social trends in this country in nearly half a century. Encore describes the competing visions for work that are already lining up to capture the hearts and minds, and the time, of waves of baby boomers who are not content, or affluent enough, to spend their next twenty or thirty years on the golf course. Baby boomers are searching for a calling in the second half of life; they are moving beyond midlife yet refusing to phase out or fade away. If the old dream of the Golden Years was the Freedom from Work, the dream of this new wave is the Freedom to Work--in new ways, on new terms, to new ends. As their numbers begin to swell, these individuals hold the potential not only to transform work in America, but to create a society that balances the joys and responsibilities of contribution across the generations--in other words, one that works better for everyone.
Synopsis
From the author of "Prime Time" comes this description of the competing visions of work that are capturing the hearts, minds, and the time of baby boomers who are not content--or affluent enough--to spend their next 20 or 30 years on the golf course.
Synopsis
In one of the most significant social trends of the new century, and the biggest transformation of the American workforce since the womens movement, members of the baby boom generation are inventing a new phase of work.
Encore tells the stories of encore career pioneers who are not content, or affluent enough, to spend their next thirty years on a golf course. These men and women are moving beyond midlife careers yet refusing to phase out or fade away. As they search for a calling in the second half of life and focus on what matters most, these individuals stand to transform the nature of work in America. They also hold the potential to create a society that balances the joys and responsibilities of contribution across the generationsin other words, one that works better for all of us.
About the Author
Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Civic Ventures, is a frequent commentator in the national media and the author of both
Prime Time and
The Kindness of Strangers. Freedman spearheaded the creation of The Experience Corps and The Purpose Prize. In 2007 and again in 2008 he was selected by
Fast Company as one of the nations leading social entrepreneurs. He lives in San Francisco.
Photographer Alex Harris traveled across the country to make the portraits in Encore and is currently Professor of the Practice of Public Policy at Duke University and co founder DoubleTake magazine. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.