A valuable study of the psychology of retirement, 3 April 2006

The author, Michael Longhurst, is a psychologist living in Australia but there is very little in his book that is only relevant to Australia. The book is sensible, but unoriginal, on financial matters, physical health, diet and exercise. On the psychology of retirement, however, Longhurst is more than just sensible, he is very strong and insightful.

The strengths of the book include:

1. It is based on the author's findings from a thorough-going study of the emotional experience of 200 retirees. This saves the book from the too personal, or too randomly anecdotal, character of some other books on retirement.

2. The book recognises the very wide ranging psychological implications of retirement, and the seriousness of the psychological difficulties that retired people can face. Longhurst takes a positive, yet sober, approach to problems, with much very practical advice, but without false optimism.

3. In particular, Longhurst highlights the difficulties that can be encountered after an initial "honeymoon" phase that can last as long as a year, and looks at ways in which these difficulties can be addressed, so as to build a happy retirement on firmer foundations.

4. Longhurst is very strong on the pressures that retirement can place on married couples, and on ways in which husband and wife can work to counter the risks of damage to their marriage.

5. Longhurst is also very strong on the management of anxiety, depression and stress. He is realistic about how common these experiences can be among retired people, and pragmatic and purposeful about ways of combating them.

6. Longhurst recommends that retired people seek "purposeful activity", but allows for a wide range of puposeful lifestyles.

This is a clearly written book, full of matter to be chewed and carefully digested. I would strongly recommend it to anyone
approaching retirement or newly retired.

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