Encore Adulthood: Boomers on the Edge of Risk, Renewal, and Purpose by Moen Phyllis (review)

No one needs to be reminded that there is a lot of remodeling being done to the traditional home of life course theory. This fine old four-bedroom house served the life course family well for several decades. Childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age were quite comfortable within its walls. The first remodel came when scholars recognized that Millennials needed somewhere else to sleep for a few years. They enlarged the home and added a fifth bedroom called "emerging adulthood" between adolescence and adulthood. Now it appears that the Baby Boomers also need their own life course living space for 20 or so "bonus" years. In this book, Phyllis Moen is enthusiastically drawing up ambitious plans for a large bonus room called "encore adulthood" to be built between adulthood and old age.

Throughout the book, Moen makes the point that increasing lifespans and improved health have created for Baby Boomers about 20 bonus years of relatively active life between traditional retirement age and when the effects of old age really set in. This time of life, which she calls "encore adulthood," is a veritable treasure trove of possibilities that could benefit the individual, the family, the community, and the world as a whole. I like this thought a lot! I am a Baby Boomer approaching traditional retirement age, and I am still full of energy and wisdom and wanting to continue to contribute for many years to come (although I would like a little less intensity). This book helps me and my fellow Baby Boomers. It provides a sense of hope that we can craft a couple of decades of encore adulthood in which to pursue life's mature passions. Like the encore after a beautiful musical performance, encore adulthood can be an energetic time of renewing contribution.

All this sounds wonderful, but Moen points out that there are quite a few challenges before we can claim the blessings of encore adulthood. Unfortunately, the institutions and systems of our society originated in a different era and are so very difficult to change. The unwritten rule of our society is that someone should be engaged in full-time employment until leaving the workforce permanently at about age 65. The problem is that Baby Boomers in encore adulthood want to continue working, but would make their best contribution by working part-time. They also want to be engaged a little more in unpaid activities, such as community service, travel, and maintaining family relations (and perhaps taking an afternoon nap!).

This book is well structured and makes logical sense. It is easy to read and to follow. Naturally, the first section, "Recognizing Inertia," is grounded in the past. Moen looks at the roots of our current work and family assumptions and associated institutions and how they came to be. For example, the assumption of continuous full-time employment until full retirement at age 65 was established when men were primary breadwinners and women were housewives, lifespans were shorter, and health was not so good after 65. She persuasively makes the case that these institutions are out of sync with today's reality but are difficult to change because of the weight of inertia.

The second section, which Moen calls "Time-Shifting Improvisations," is grounded in the present. She highlights how today's encore adults are pushing traditional assumptions by continuing to work after traditional retirement age and blurring the boundaries between adulthood and old age. Though the institutions are slow to change, today's Baby Boomers are taking initiative and creating their own path. Moen makes the case that this generation 50 years ago challenged the system as young adults. They are doing the same today as encore adults.

The last section of this book looks with hope toward the future and is called "Innovations." In this section, Moen examines pockets of change within institutions and how current efforts might overcome inertia and lead to...