caregiving roles as wives and as grandparents longer than men. Add
to this the fact that the need to adapt flexibly to moves forced by a hus-
band’s career changes may now be replaced by the need to adapt to
moves to comfortable retirement sites where a wife’s career shaped
over many years may be interrupted. These factors mean that once
again, as couples look toward their later years, women find themselves
again looking within themselves and raising consciousness of their
identities and goals. No wonder some find their way into life coaching
and, indeed, into “curating” their own lives, for as one woman told the
authors, “The wisdom part comes from choices.” This is “active
wisdom,” associated not with a rocking chair but with moving
forward.
These are women who were given little career guidance but were
told that they could do whatever they set their minds on. Their choices
are examples of creativity guided by common sense and the under-
standing that satisfaction comes from engagement. My advice to
women reassessing their investment of themselves in later adulthood
is biblical, for “where your treasure is (your time, talent, and skills),
there will your heart be also.” They are scouts entering a new land-
scape and modeling a sense of possibility to those who will follow—
including the men in their lives.
Mary Catherine Bateson
Foreword xi
