In this concise, encouraging guidebook, Kaufman and Hiland draw deep on their professional and experiential knowledge to help readers prepare for a retirement filled with purpose. Noting the prevalence of retirees who are materially secure yet still unhappy, the authors focus on approaches to facing the profound life changes encountered in the “terra incognita” of retirement, framing preparations for a post-career life in the manner of a travel guide. The authors blend functional advice and philosophical questions (“What Do You Want to Do?” “Where Do You Want to Live?”) to help readers enter this stage of life with clear goals and useful tools, emphasizing that sound financial planning is not the only key to enjoying “a satisfying, meaningful life when you retire.”

One of the guide’s strengths is its crispness: Kaufman and Hiland get to the point quickly, aligning readers with their goal of “framing the important questions and pointing you in helpful directions” while delivering motivation for their audience to take authority in creating a retirement that nourishes body, brain, heart, and soul. They offer reflective prompts throughout, instruments to probe individual readers’ needs, and specific counsel on the different stages of retirement as well as the importance of thinking through its timing, locale, leisure activities, and impact on relationships. The advice can be frank: “If you stay in your pajamas, you die,” one authority they quote declares. Still, Kaufman and Hiland acknowledge there is no perfect formula for those facing this phase of life–and they recommend viewing it as an “extraordinarily important journey” as opposed to a final destination.

Operating from the assumption that readers have already achieved financial stability affords the authors ample space to address many other measures of living well that can get overlooked in other guides. They offer plenty of external resources as well. Readers who are considering their own retirement transition or assisting someone else in preparing will benefit from this direct and highly useful guide.

Takeaway: A succinct guide on retirement planning that goes beyond finances to offer readers new perspectives on laying the groundwork.

Great for fans of: Fritz Gilbert’s Keys to a Successful Retirement, The Retirement Challenge: A Non-financial Guide From Top Retirement Experts.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A