The New Senior Man

Exploring New Horizons, New Opportunities

Thelma Reese and Barbara M. Fleisher

The New Senior Man: Exploring New Horizons, New Opportunities fills a gap that is already huge –and growing. Where do men fit into the astonishing changes in both life expectancy and visibility of the aging boomers among us? Unlike women, who move into retirement years with a network of friends and intimates cultivated over decades, men, for the most part, do it alone. Changes in women’s lives and in the culture have brought changes for men who were told to “man up” since they were toddlers. Having faced that challenge throughout their lives, it’s time now to do it again: to see changes in the world around them as opportunities, to discover new strengths and passions, to make the most of the gift of time.

With perhaps a third of productive life ahead, retirement requires redefinition. Where are the role models among the men who, at this critical turning point in their lives, continue to redefine and reinvent their lives past the time of the proverbial gold watch and a set of golf clubs? As pioneers in this rapidly emerging new world, the men whose narratives appear in this book are role models for each other and those who follow. They seek more than advice about investments and improving their golf strokes. Men from all walks of life tell us, in their own words, how they see the challenges and chances that lie ahead and within themselves, and how they are taking full advantage of opportunities that re-start living.

Each chapter presents a topic relevant to this later stage of life: memory, family dynamics, sexual intimacy, loss, and independence, among others. Like a conversation among friends, the book introduces readers to new ways of looking at the present and the future, so that men may cultivate a lifestyle that not only suits them, but supports a healthy, rewarding, and enjoyable reframing of life.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 190 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-4422-7196-8 • Hardback • October 2017 • $45.00 • (£35.00)

978-1-4422-7197-5 • eBook • October 2017 • $42.50 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Self-Help / Aging, Social Science / General, Social Science / Gerontology, Psychology / Psychology of Sex & Gender

The New Senior Man

Exploring New Horizons, New Opportunities

Hardback

eBook

Summary

The New Senior Man: Exploring New Horizons, New Opportunities fills a gap that is already huge –and growing. Where do men fit into the astonishing changes in both life expectancy and visibility of the aging boomers among us? Unlike women, who move into retirement years with a network of friends and intimates cultivated over decades, men, for the most part, do it alone. Changes in women’s lives and in the culture have brought changes for men who were told to “man up” since they were toddlers. Having faced that challenge throughout their lives, it’s time now to do it again: to see changes in the world around them as opportunities, to discover new strengths and passions, to make the most of the gift of time.

With perhaps a third of productive life ahead, retirement requires redefinition. Where are the role models among the men who, at this critical turning point in their lives, continue to redefine and reinvent their lives past the time of the proverbial gold watch and a set of golf clubs? As pioneers in this rapidly emerging new world, the men whose narratives appear in this book are role models for each other and those who follow. They seek more than advice about investments and improving their golf strokes. Men from all walks of life tell us, in their own words, how they see the challenges and chances that lie ahead and within themselves, and how they are taking full advantage of opportunities that re-start living.

Each chapter presents a topic relevant to this later stage of life: memory, family dynamics, sexual intimacy, loss, and independence, among others. Like a conversation among friends, the book introduces readers to new ways of looking at the present and the future, so that men may cultivate a lifestyle that not only suits them, but supports a healthy, rewarding, and enjoyable reframing of life.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 190 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-4422-7196-8 • Hardback • October 2017 • $45.00 • (£35.00)

978-1-4422-7197-5 • eBook • October 2017 • $42.50 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Self-Help / Aging, Social Science / General, Social Science / Gerontology, Psychology / Psychology of Sex & Gender

Author

Barbara M. Fleisher, Ed. D., was a retired professor of education. She wore many hats in her life: public school teacher, learning disabilities/reading specialist, child advocate in the schools, college professor in San Francisco, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia, and author. She published many articles that have appeared in juried professional journals, and presented her research at national and international conferences on education. She had been project director of several university-community partnerships and service learning grants. Co-author of The New Senior Woman: Reinventing the Years Beyond Mid-Life (Rowman & Littlefield), she found work on The New Senior Man rewarding and inspiring.

Thelma Reese, Ed. D., retired professor of English and of Education, created the Advisory Council for Hooked on Phonics and was its spokesperson in the '90's. In that role, and as director of the Mayor's Commission on Literacy for the City of Philadelphia, she appeared frequently on television and hosted a cable show in Philadelphia. She was a founder of Philadelphia Young Playwrights, chaired the Board of Children’s Literacy Initiative, and organized the World Symposium on Family Literacy at UNESCO in Paris in 1994. She is co-author of The New SeniorWoman: Reinventing the Years Beyond Mid-Life (Rowman & Littlefield). She lives with her husband, Harvey Reese, author and artist.

Together, Fleisher and Reese created the blog, ElderChicks.com which continues to publish the thoughts and opinions of older women and other interested readers. Their published essays may be found on ElderEssays.com. Thelma appears monthly on Rick Toquigny’s blogcast, Life Lessons Radio- "America's Favorite Lessons Show" as he plumbs the ideas and opinions of the ElderChicks.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 220 WORDS

INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1: WHY MAN UP?
- Growing up and growing old
- Facing Ageism
- Is it time to think about legacy?
CHAPTER 2: WHO AM I NOW THAT I’M RETIRED?
- Am I still the same guy?
- I really didn’t see this coming.
- I’ve had my coffee and read the newspaper; now what?
CHAPTER 3: STAYING THE COURSE: LONGER, FARTHER, DEEPER
- Won’t do it. Cannot.
- Reconfiguring the same passion.
CHAPTER 4: NEW PATHS
- Eureka! I found it!
CHAPTER 5: MEANDERING
- I want to play golf most days. On the other days I want to play tennis.
- Loving my leisure
- Deferred dreams, finally fulfilled
- New venues; new relationships
CHAPTER 6: MY LIFE AT HOME HAS A NEW FEEL
- Changing role of women
- Changing Role of Men
- I don’t fit into my wife’s busy life.
- Caregiving
- Home Alone
- Where Is Home? Where Should It Be?
CHAPTER 7: HEALTH SEX AND INTIMACY
- What is health anyway?
- The “D” word
- The “A” word
- The “P” word
- LGBTQ Issues
- Are sex and intimacy the same?
- Does one size fit all?
- Fears, reassurances, and cautions
- Managing different expectations within a partnership
CHAPTER 8: SEPARATION AND LOSS
- The universal experiences
- Preparation
- Learning and Growing
CHAPTER 9: WHO WILL YOU BE?
- Time to man up
AFTERWORD
DISCUSSION GUIDE
REFERRALS AND RESOURCES
- An Annotated List of Organizations, Programs, Resources
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Reviews

Thelma Reese and Barbara Fleisher have opened the eyes of America to the new senior man. Their new discoveries are enlightening, often humorous, and sometimes surprising. With The New Senior Man, expect to gain new definition to man's purpose, his journey into retirement, and his quest to reinvent himself. Thank you Elder Chicks for this new point of view.
— Rick Tocquigny, host and author, Life Lessons Show

All hail, The New Senior Man! In their new book Fleisher and Reese dig deep and really get to the juice of things—the sense of identity, passion, fear, energy, creativity, sexuality – and more – of a new breed of older homo sapiens. We meet and get to know a wonderful cast of characters who prove the authors’ twin theses: this is a new and exciting time of life for older men and there is a legion of such men inventing it.
— Dick Goldberg, former National Director, Coming of Age

The stories presented in this book paint pictures of possibilities for men who are elders, and it’s these possibilities that will enable us to choose to live our lives to the fullest.
— Yosaif August, encore careers life coach; founder, Menschwork and the Jewish Men’s Retreat

Never before have so many people – men and women – had so much experience and time and the capacity to do something significant with it. This moving and insightful book – and the thoughtful men in it – encourage us to seize the opportunity, write our own encore, and live our legacy. What a gift!
— Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Encore.org and author of The Big Shift

The New Senior Man

Exploring New Horizons, New Opportunities

Thelma Reese and Barbara M. Fleisher

The New Senior Man

Exploring New Horizons, New Opportunities

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