Heads-up, Boomers: 7 books for lifelong learners

SOMEDAY is Not a Day in the Week

by Sam Horn

The author asks if we are busy working, taking care of everyone around us and planning to do what will make us happy someday when we have more time, money or freedom. Her message: Life is much too precious to postpone. It isn’t about abandoning responsibilities or quitting a job, but about finding our avocation, embracing discovery, even blending work and recreation.

The Purpose Path 

by Nicholas Pearce

This “Guide to Pursuing Your Authentic Life’s Work” challenges us to be who we were born to be and to understand the difference between success and significance in our lives. Inspiring, thought-provoking and practical, The Purpose Path is an essential book for people who seek the clarity and courage to advance their authentic life’s work every day.

GRIT: The Power of Passion and Perseverance 

by Angela Duckworth

Here are the secrets to succeed at any time in your life, including Act 3. Duckworth defines grit as a special blend of passion and persistence, something people over 60 have in multiples. It isn’t genius that drives us to achieve, it’s the power of grit, she suggests.

Creative Calling 

by Chase Jarvis

This book isn’t about finding fulfillment and success, but about creating it. Jarvis points to creativity as a force inside every person that can transform our lives, and he urges us to develop the habit of a creative practice. Jarvis inspires readers to consider inexpensive learning resources such as podcasts, online seminars, classes and blogs.

Under the Tuscan Sun 

by Frances Mayes

Twenty years ago, Mayes — a notable poet, gourmet cook and travel writer — introduced readers to a wondrous new world when she bought and restored an abandoned villa in Tuscany. The memoir inspired readers to embark on their own journeys, whether via travel abroad, experimenting with one of the book’s recipes or simply being transported by Mayes’ evocative prose. In a new anniversary edition, we can gain inspiration for learning to live another kind of life because, as the author reminds us, “life must change from time to time if we are to go forward in our thinking.”

Old in Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over 

by Nell Painter

After retiring from Princeton University, where she is the Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita, Nell Irvin Painter surprised everyone in her life by returning to school to earn two degrees in painting. Bringing to bear incisive insights from two careers, Painter weaves a candid, funny and often unpredictable tale of her move from academia to art. She struggles with the unstable balance between the pursuit of art and the inevitable, sometimes painful demands of a life fully lived, and she explores how women and artists are seen and judged by their age, appearance and race. Among Painter’s many acclaimed works of history is the New York Times bestseller The History of White People.

  What Color is Your Parachute? 

by Richard N. Bolles

As this book’s subtitle declares, it is “A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers.” With more than 10 million copies sold, it is considered the world’s most popular job-search book (updated for 2020). It is, says the New York Post, “the go-to guide for everyone from midlife-crisis boomers looking to change their careers to college students looking to start one.” At the heart of this guide is the Flower Exercise, a unique self-inventory that helps you design your career — and your life — around your key passions and strengths.  

More to explore

Advance your career from your living room

The alumni association’s Bill and Susan Lhota Office of Alumni Career Management offers dozens of webinars, many of interest to seasoned professionals.

The Successful Encore Career podcast

Employment For Seniors’ Carol Ventresca co-hosts this award-winning podcast with producer Brett Johnson. The pair offer inspiration, insights and tools for listeners’ next career move, often interviewing others who have embarked on successful encore careers as well as employers.

Boomertown podcast

This podcast version of a Canadian radio show takes baby boomers back to the music, movies and fads of earlier times. Love it? There are more than 300 episodes to explore!