Comments on: Rebirth as Authors – Retirees Reinventing Themselves

By: Diana Y. Paul

Diana Y. Paul — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 20:52:54 +0000

The joy of writing as well as the painful effort–thinking of Hemingway saying writing is just a matter of sitting down, writing, and opening a vein–requires time, mindfulness, and obsession. You are so right about how the process also gives the author so much in return for the journey.

By: Diana Y. Paul

Diana Y. Paul — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 20:50:55 +0000

In reply to Agnes Grunwald-Spier. I am so happy to hear that you have found your voice as an author! The intensity of the subject of the Holocaust must require focus and an exhausting amount of research. Congratulations on your new path as a writer!

By: Agnes Grunwald-Spier

Agnes Grunwald-Spier — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 12:30:19 +0000

My writing followed undertaking an MA in Holocaust Studies in my mid 50s. It led to me writing my first book ‘The Other Schindlers’ at the age of 65 and two further books on the Holocaust have followed. I would not have managed to write these if I had not divorced my husband because it is very intensive and I have to focus entirely on the writing. I enjoy the research and the process of writing but could not cope with looking after someone else at the same time.

By: Bonnie McCune

Bonnie McCune — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 00:56:59 +0000

I, too, published my first novel after I retired, although I’d been writing since age 10. Before that point I wrote nonfiction articles mostly (the days when there still were many publications) and some short stories. So it wasn’t like I’d made a sudden decision–Hey, now I’ll write. Retirement enabled me to spend more concentrated time working. I believe writing is an obsession, an addiction, although it gives back to the writer more than she puts into it.