The book is based on a series of interviews with people who have made intentional changes in their lives to finish well. One issue I had with this book is its apparent disconnected nature from the reality of the majority of humanity. The folks that Buford chose to interview were mainly multi-millionaires who opted to quit their CEO jobs and become philanthropists or to start "non-profits". Of course, very few will fit this mold. But, if you can get past this, it has a lot to offer that everyone can appreciate in the way of getting your mind situated to looking forward to your "post-retirement" years with hope and purpose. If you can identify your strengths, your passion, and your opportunities, you really can leave a legacy of blessing to others.
I think the book is best summed up with a quote that the author includes from Ernest Becker's 1974 Pulitzer winner, The Denial of Death:
"The defeat of despair is not mainly an intellectual problem for an active organism, but a problem of self-stimulation via movement. Beyond a given point man is not helped by more 'knowing', but only by living and doing in a partly self-forgetful way ... we must plunge into the experience and then reflect on the meaning of it. All reflection and no plunging drives us mad; all plunging and no reflection, and we are brutes."
As I promised Bill as a condition of receiving this book, I will look to pass it on to someone I find along the way who might also benefit from its wisdom and message.
