Marielle's Book

I wrote this book out of anger and angst.

It was in the first years of the 21st century, in the USA, when I woke up, a single woman in midlife. I couldn’t get around the realization any longer, that my “retirement planning” was not really going to live up to my expectations.

What had happened?  What was I going to do with the next 25-30 years of my life? What about purpose and meaning, productivity and quality of life? What do I want?  What matters? And how to secure me in those frail years?

When I didn’t get any clever answers I knew it was time for some drastic action. I decided to simply walk away from my life. I closed my company, packed up the apartment, gave away plants and cat and drove south.

A sign by the road told me to buckle up. I did!

For almost two years I researched all the possible angles of this transition. To name a few:

Women in history, gender emancipation, finances to last a lifetime, long term planning on fixed retirement income in today’s economy.  And not to forget longevity, the ingenuity of the Baby Boomer generation, and Money!!

In the end I decided that, instead of letting all that work sitting idle on my computer, I would give it form and send it out into the world. And voila!!

2008 may have been a chaotic year, but nothing compared to what we are living today in 2025.

That makes this book worthwhile not only for women in midlife, but for everybody in transition.

Life is too precious to not make a plan, and Baby Boomers collectively have too much knowledge, wisdom, and available man-hours to let go to waste.

The book is filled with questions to trigger your resilience, and lists meant to engage you in this interesting process.

What does aging mean to you and how to do it gracefully?

In what ways is it different from our parents’ retirement and what remains the same?

What expectations are real? And what is within reach?

So much!  You will see!