2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Finding the Silver Lining: Baby Boomer Life Lessons by Judy Love Rondeau is a compilation of advice, demographics, and resources from various experts as well as the author's personal experiences addressing the unique lifestyle challenges affecting the "sandwich generation," those born between 1946-1964.
The book offers practical life lessons and resources for dealing with many of the issues facing today's baby boomers including caregiving for aging parents, coping with death and grief, boomerang adult kids, raising grandchildren, leaving the workforce, and preparing for and navigating retirement. Rondeau also addresses ageism in the workforce regarding hiring people over 50, marketing to baby boomers, and their surprising statistics regarding social media use. In addition to the compilation of various expert sources, she shares her personal experiences and resources for finding the silver lining--being prepared and maintaining a positive attitude.
The strength of this book was when the author shared her personal experiences. Rondeau was candid about the challenges she faced and the lessons she learned in the process as a caregiver for her aging parents and as a baby boomer dealing with ageism in the workforce. On the topic of ageism, I found the fact that she didn't receive a single response to sending over 300 resumes staggering. Fortunately, she has since found work and shared some of her creative approaches. Rondeau also provided practical information from her caregiving experiences with her parents on topics including term life insurance, reverse home mortgages, assisted living, hospice care, and important issues to consider when planning for a parent's death. Many of the items she included in her comprehensive list of documents wouldn't have occurred to me.
On the other hand, I was disappointed that the portion of the book Rondeau wrote about her own experiences was brief in contrast to the expert advice. While the book included a disclaimer regarding the articles she referenced, I anticipated more of a balance between the two. I was unprepared for the volume of content that seemed to transition from one lengthy excerpt of others' work to another. Due to the various ways sources were cited, at times it was difficult to determine where one source ended and another began or if the author was speaking. Furthermore, I noted inconsistencies that were a result of stringing together articles. For instance, when citing two references back-to-back, the first described baby boomers as ranging from their mid-50s to mid-60s. However, the math didn't compute when the following source listed the younger end of the spectrum as 63. Despite the numerous sources, this type of inconsistency is confusing to readers. I can't discredit the wealth of knowledge as a resource guide, but I believe more contribution from Rondeau would have strengthened the book as a whole.
The book has a professionally edited appearance as the only error I noted was a single missing quotation mark. However, due to the issues previously mentioned, I rate the book 2 out of 4 stars. The book has great potential, but I can't help but feel the author did herself a disservice by burying her voice under the masses of other sources instead of trusting her experiences as a baby boomer. I recommend the book to baby boomers and readers who are caregivers for their parents.
******
Finding The Silver Lining
View: on Bookshelves
Like Cecilia_L's review? Post a comment saying so!
when I get a little money I buy books; and if I have any left l buy food and clothes
