Shifting Gears: 50 Baby Boomers Share Their Meaningful Journeys in Retirement

Shifting Gears is based on interviews with retirees, describing how they shift into this stage of their life. Sometimes they shift smoothly, sometimes they grind the gears, and often they take some time to learn to shift. The stories reveal the rich abundance of retirement ventures, from the exotic to the mundane. Discover their joys, challenges, and inspirations that were part of their journey in this next stage of life. Here are a few examples of their experiences:

• Donna recovered from 4 leg surgeries in three years. Once she recovered, she wanted to celebrate by doing something really tough. She decided to try climbing Kilimanjaro.

• Larry describes being a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. The sense of purpose and helping people get their first home is a personally rewarding part of his retirement.

• After an IT career that was all analytical, systematic, rational skills, Steve felt that he'd underdeveloped his artistic, intuitive, conversational potential.

• Chuck and his wife had to deal with adversity when a fire ravaged their home. He describes their escape from the fire and the resilience needed to reconstruct their life.

• Jane and her girlfriends decided their 70's were the right time to learn to play ukulele. They get together to play and sing together, and are now doing public appearances.

• Tom created the Tacky Tavern Tour to entertain his friends. He likes to have parties where his friends get quietly uncomfortable.

• Old, Wise, Learning Still (OWLS) is a discussion group of lifelong friends who talk about end of life issues.