Book review: Relish Your Retirement by Florance Philip

Whether you are a woman in retirement or approaching that time in life, this book will likely interest you. Here is my review of Relish Your Retirement by Florance Philip.

Disclosure: This book was gifted to me in return for an honest review.

A book for women, to ease the transition into retirement

Ideas? Why do women need ideas? Author Philip answers that question at the start of Relish Your Retirement.

Philip writes that the transition to retirement can be difficult, and there isn’t a lot out there to guide someone entering this phase. Hence, the need for this book. Philip explains that she wrote this book after seeing her mother’s struggles upon entering retirement.

The read is intended as a source of inspiration for those struggling with how to occupy their time after leaving the work world. With a sense of loss of job, social life connected to co-workers, and identity bound to one’s career, the emotions are many, and likely overwhelming.

With plenty of ideas in this book, Florance Philip offers a way to ease the transition into retirement. The overarching goal is to help one to create a happier, more content life in the golden years.

A major source of inspiration: 501 ideas

This book has 501 ideas for a happier retired life for women. Yes, you read that number right! That’s a lot of inspiration.

By offering so many different ideas for activities, hobbies, and more, author Florance Philip is appealing to so many people. She even has a chapter devoted to ideas for those who have mobility issues.

To anyone unsure how to occupy their mind or body after leaving the work world, this book can provide a huge number of suggestions. Many of them are simple, such as getting out for a walk or taking an online course. Others are more extensive, such as living in another country for a year.

I like that there are activities that appeal to the mind and the body, rather than just one or the other. Keeping physically active in retirement is important, as is mental exercise. Philip appeals to both with the range of ideas here.

Some of the other 501 ideas focus on nurturing relationships. As the author notes, healthy relationships with the self and others are a key part of happiness.

Wondering what the other suggestions are? Here are some of them: learning to play an instrument, taking up silk screen printing, enrolling in a sailing class, and returning to school… That is only a handful of the 501 ideas. Yes, it’s quite the range, from small to bigger things.

Relish Your Retirement: A great book format

At the end of each chapter are questions and suggestions to prompt the reader to begin to put the 501 ideas into action. It is a practical book in this regard.

As well, Philip’s writing style is easy to read. I like the way the ideas are listed and expanded on in short paragraphs. The book flows well from chapter to chapter too.

There is also a chapter on self-improvement ideas in retirement. This is great, in my opinion, as the senior years can be so wonderful as you look at ways to truly connect with who you are and be the best version possible.

The chapters also have inspirational quotes within them. That adds to the uplifting theme throughout the book.

Personal reflections on retirement

I am not retired. I am in my 40s and still have many working years ahead of me. But that does not mean I cannot start thinking about those years.

While many people plan financially for retirement, I am planning mentally too. I learned from this book that retirement isn’t easy to transition to after a long career.

So, I now know a bit more about how to prepare myself for it after reading Relish Your Retirement. I realize that by feeding my mind and body with inspirational ideas like those in this book, I am more likely to be able to enjoy the golden years.

Overall impressions of Relish Your Retirement

There’s little chance of boredom when using the lists in this book as a guide, and the included activities help readers get a start on the activities (physical and mental). The only criticism I have is that partway through the book, it occurred to me that the ideas could apply to all genders, not only women.

So, I would have liked a bit more focus by the author on overcoming retirement-related challenges specifically for women. Perhaps it could include ideas, for example, for women who retire early because of menopause.

Still, it is a read that surely will get more people enjoying retirement! Relish Your Retirement by Florance Philip offers many uplifting ideas for those close to or in the retirement phase of life.

The suggestions are intended to help readers transition into the next life phase, reconnecting with themselves and those around them after decades of work. The ideas are inspiring, for sure!