Abigail Trafford is a popular Washington Post columnist. Her newest book focuses on the potential positive impact of baby boomer retirement. The title of this lecture is, "My Time: Life Begins at 50."
December 8, 2003
Trafford, a former Washington Post
columnist and author (Crazy Time: Surviving Divorce and Building a New Life
), turns her attention here to a stage of life she calls, "My Time." Because so many people are now living longer, healthier lives, the years from 55 to 80 represent an opportunity for growth, after career and family responsibilities have eased, that earlier generations did not have. Drawing on longevity research and a wide variety of interviews with older adults, Trafford does a credible job of examining how many men and women are taking advantage of these decades to reinvent themselves. According to the author, to move creatively into the future, one must first go through a second adolescence, a period marked by self-empowerment and dreaming about new possibilities. After this transition, Trafford maintains, an individual decides on a life purpose, such as beginning a new career, volunteering, participating in the arts or pursuing an educational goal. Since many people experience illness or changes in love relationships during this period, Trafford includes anecdotes about how those in this age group deal with these problems. An excellent section on nurturing love explores the importance of friendship and family as well as the ways romance and sexuality can bloom and deepen in these years of personal development.