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  • Independence Day

  • What I Learned About Retirement from Some Who’ve Done It and Some Who Never Will
  • Written by: Steve Lopez
  • Narrated by: Steve Lopez
  • Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (12 ratings)

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Independence Day

Written by: Steve Lopez
Narrated by: Steve Lopez
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Publisher's Summary

"Steve Lopez is insightful, ingenious, and often hilarious as he navigates one of life's biggest questions."—Michael Connelly, New York Times bestselling author of The Dark Hours.

Four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and longtime Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez explores the meaning of work and how it defines us in this captivating book that combines memoir, investigatory interviews, and practical application.

Grappling with his own decision of whether to retire, Lopez uses his reporter skills not only to look inward but also to interview experts and peers to collect a variety of perspectives as he examines the true nature of a person's time, identity, and ultimate life satisfaction.

In Independence Day, Lopez talks to those who have chosen to extend their working life to its (il)logical extreme—people like Mel Brooks, still working at 94—those who have happily retired and reinvented themselves outside of the constraints of work, and those who would like to retire but can't because of financial constraints. He also turns to professionals on the matter, like two aging scientists, a geriatric specialist, and a psychiatrist, to understand the research-based reasons to retire.

With his trademark poignancy, wisdom, and humor, Lopez establishes a useful polemic for himself and others in planning ahead, as he also evaluates questions of identity, financial limitations, and ultimately what to do with your life when the obituary pages are no longer filled with strangers.

©2022 Thomas Nelson (P)2022 Harper Horizon

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Predictable

If you are looking for advice on whether to retire or how to gain some of your time back, allow me to save you some money and time and tell you to do what you love whether it is you current job, a hobby or just scaling back. The author’s “journey” and reflection is predictable and there were very few nuggets of wisdom to be obtained from this recording.

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Wish I had read Independence Day years ago!

Wish I had read Independence Day years ago!
The insights and story are real and compelling great reading at any age but especially pertinent if you are considering retiring!

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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book about what to do next, more than 33 years of work

Wonderful insights about how to approach retirement and what to do the rest of your life. I’m almost 60 and in need of some ideas on how to approach the next chapter of my own life.

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