by Marc Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures

Ostensibly written for baby-boomers who are either too bored or too poor to enjoy retired life, this book is just as relevant for anyone currently looking for fulfilling employment. It includes essays from trailblazers who have done complete 180’s from their former careers, like a former car salesman who became sick of the way customers were cheated, and traded in his lot to become what he calls a “social entrepreneur”. He started a business that provides low-interest loans and fuel-efficient cars to low-income families in rural New Hampshire. The interconnecting chapters explain the current state of employment for the baby-boom generation in the US, but the appendix is the really helpful part that helps you focus your own career path. With hard questions to answer like how much income you’ll need and which community or national problems motivate you into action, the appendix shares links for occupational direction, and directly focuses on some of the more prominent fields, like education and health care. According to a further example in the book, one doesn’t need to have started out in either field to start a new career in them – a former truant officer became a critical care nurse in her “retirement”. With this book and its examples as your guide, you’ll be on your way to becoming part of what author Richard Florida calls “the creative class” – the class that is likely to change the world. For further career direction, check out the “Career Cruising” database, available for free on our website http://www.stratford.library.on.ca/databases.htm#employment

Find a copy of encore: finding work that matters in our on-line catalogue.