Retirement: Listening to Van Gogh

by James Stevens
(Atlanta GA)

After a long career in professional writing, mostly non-fiction, I wrote a novel-about being retired and searching for answers for my new life. The result is "Listening to Van Gogh: A Coming of Retirement Age novel."

It addresses the issues in your request in an informal, humorous and ultimately uplifting manner.

The idea for the novel first occurred during a moment of quiet reflection while cruising down the Rhone River on a perfect April day in 2007.

One of the reasons my wife and I selected the Provence cruise was to meet with other passengers facing the many challenges of retirement. As the days passed and we interacted with other retirees, we discovered many shared feelings and concerns, and a consensus that retirement involves major transitions as significant as the more familiar coming of adult age event.

One of the more significant changes is finding the answer to the question of what now? What is the spark that ignites the passion that will drive your life in your new identity?

Retirement can be the most rewarding part of adult life for those willing to transcend the ordinary.

A synopsis of the novel, photos, and an author’s bio are available on my website.