Precise, practical, poetic, and powerful
These are just four of many superlatives that could be used to describe - but which would only begin to describe - the artistry and crystal-clear insight of Jon Barnard Gilmore's new book. For this is a book like no other, on a subject that millions of people will be "registering" to study as our population ages. As will prove true for so many readers, retirement for Gilmore has led to a series of surprises, by turns sobering and joyful.
As a professor of Psychology, with many more years of teaching ahead of him before he would turn sixty-five, Gilmore was surprised to find himself falling in love with the Kootenay region of British Columbia following a chance encounter during a long drive to California. He was also surprised, a few years later, to find himself bidding on property there and then applying for early retirement from his teaching position.
Kaslo, B.C., was where he thought he would live year-round. But divorce - a further surprise - and a new relationship have meant that he now divides his time between two regions of startling beauty: his B.C. home and the Caledon hills near Toronto.
Perhaps most surprising to Gilmore has been his discovery that the real work of any life begins when we retire: that retiring consists of a series of personal and relational tasks through which we might achieve a better understanding of ourselves, and of our past, present, and future.
Jon Barnard Gilmore, Ph.D., is also the author of In Cold Pursuit: Medical Intelligence Examines the Common Cold. Prior to retiring he taught Introductory Psychology to thousands of appreciative students at the University of Toronto. In 1987 he was named Canadian Professor of the Year. He was educated at Stanford and Yale Universities and for thirty years he maintained a private clinical practice.
These are just four of many superlatives that could be used to describe - but which would only begin to describe - the artistry and crystal-clear insight of Jon Barnard Gilmore's new book. For this is a book like no other, on a subject that millions of people will be "registering" to study as our population ages. As will prove true for so many readers, retirement for Gilmore has led to a series of surprises, by turns sobering and joyful.
As a professor of Psychology, with many more years of teaching ahead of him before he would turn sixty-five, Gilmore was surprised to find himself falling in love with the Kootenay region of British Columbia following a chance encounter during a long drive to California. He was also surprised, a few years later, to find himself bidding on property there and then applying for early retirement from his teaching position.
Kaslo, B.C., was where he thought he would live year-round. But divorce - a further surprise - and a new relationship have meant that he now divides his time between two regions of startling beauty: his B.C. home and the Caledon hills near Toronto.
Perhaps most surprising to Gilmore has been his discovery that the real work of any life begins when we retire: that retiring consists of a series of personal and relational tasks through which we might achieve a better understanding of ourselves, and of our past, present, and future.
Jon Barnard Gilmore, Ph.D., is also the author of In Cold Pursuit: Medical Intelligence Examines the Common Cold. Prior to retiring he taught Introductory Psychology to thousands of appreciative students at the University of Toronto. In 1987 he was named Canadian Professor of the Year. He was educated at Stanford and Yale Universities and for thirty years he maintained a private clinical practice.
Share This Book: