Klaus (Weathering Winter, not reviewed, etc.) retired not long ago from the University of Iowa, where for many years he taught the art and craft of the personal essay and journal writing. No surprise, then, that he presents a diary of his musings about his retirement. At age 65, as the title says, he took retirement (rather than be given it, unasked for, as often happens). It was a difficult transition, despite the comfortable retirement fund. He had old, thin skin, comparing himself to graybeards, geezers, and others in their golden years. Leaving the warm bosom of collegial togetherness did not appeal, and the thought of abandoning the classroom filled him with anxiety. It seemed important to retain his campus office, to retain some vestige of influence, to hang on as some sort of “consultant” (as outplaced professionals are apt to call themselves). The teacher’s identity crisis prompted him to evade a formal farewell dinner—a good move—though he did accept the dedication of a large oak tree—another good move. He was, to put it bluntly, self-absorbed and mighty introspective, finding much angst in the rituals of quotidian domestic affairs. Gardening, health, friends, writing, meditation, and menus were the subjects of his journal entries, which were scrupulously written daily, starting weeks before his last class. Then, one day, the pensioner simply didn’t shave at his accustomed hour. Then he skipped a day and made no entry in his journal. Then another. As the new school year started without the professor emeritus, he and his ever-understanding wife traveled through the Canadian Rockies. And somehow retirement didn’t seem so bad, after all. A life-altering transition is faithfully chronicled in this story of a condition that is new in the history of humanity. With academic and heartland sensibility, it’s an elegy perhaps not as universal as the author envisioned, but quite suitable for more than the Modern Maturity and Elderhostel crowd.
Pub Date: Sept. 20, 1999
ISBN: 0-8070-7218-4
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
A highly readable account of how solid research and personal testing of self-help techniques saved a couple's marriage after...
Self-help advice and personal reflections on avoiding spousal fights while raising children.
Before her daughter was born, bestselling author Dunn (Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo?: And Other Questions I Wish I Never Had to Ask, 2009, etc.) enjoyed steady work and a happy marriage. However, once she became a mother, there never seemed to be enough time, sleep, and especially help from her husband. Little irritations became monumental obstacles between them, which led to major battles. Consequently, they turned to expensive couples' therapy to help them regain some peace in life. In a combination of memoir and advice that can be found in most couples' therapy self-help books, Dunn provides an inside look at her own vexing issues and the solutions she and her husband used to prevent them from appearing in divorce court. They struggled with age-old battles fought between men and women—e.g., frequency of sex, who does more housework, who should get up with the child in the middle of the night, why women need to have a clean house, why men need more alone time, and many more. What Dunn learned via therapy, talks with other parents, and research was that there is no perfect solution to the many dynamics that surface once couples become parents. But by using time-tested techniques, she and her husband learned to listen, show empathy, and adjust so that their former status as a happy couple could safely and peacefully morph into a happy family. Readers familiar with Dunn's honest and humorous writing will appreciate the behind-the-scenes look at her own semi-messy family life, and those who need guidance through the rough spots can glean advice while being entertained—all without spending lots of money on couples’ therapy.
A highly readable account of how solid research and personal testing of self-help techniques saved a couple's marriage after the birth of their child.Pub Date: March 21, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-26710-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.
“Quality of life means more than just consumption”: Two MIT economists urge that a smarter, more politically aware economics be brought to bear on social issues.
It’s no secret, write Banerjee and Duflo (co-authors: Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way To Fight Global Poverty, 2011), that “we seem to have fallen on hard times.” Immigration, trade, inequality, and taxation problems present themselves daily, and they seem to be intractable. Economics can be put to use in figuring out these big-issue questions. Data can be adduced, for example, to answer the question of whether immigration tends to suppress wages. The answer: “There is no evidence low-skilled migration to rich countries drives wage and employment down for the natives.” In fact, it opens up opportunities for those natives by freeing them to look for better work. The problem becomes thornier when it comes to the matter of free trade; as the authors observe, “left-behind people live in left-behind places,” which explains why regional poverty descended on Appalachia when so many manufacturing jobs left for China in the age of globalism, leaving behind not just left-behind people but also people ripe for exploitation by nationalist politicians. The authors add, interestingly, that the same thing occurred in parts of Germany, Spain, and Norway that fell victim to the “China shock.” In what they call a “slightly technical aside,” they build a case for addressing trade issues not with trade wars but with consumption taxes: “It makes no sense to ask agricultural workers to lose their jobs just so steelworkers can keep theirs, which is what tariffs accomplish.” Policymakers might want to consider such counsel, especially when it is coupled with the observation that free trade benefits workers in poor countries but punishes workers in rich ones.
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-61039-950-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
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