LETTERS TO KATE
  About the Book
  About the Author
  Excerpts
    November 30, 2002
    December 1, 2002
    December 2, 2002
    December 3, 2002
    December 4, 2002
    December 5, 2002
    December 6, 2002
  Reactions & Reviews
  Ordering Information

TAKING RETIREMENT
  About the Book
  About the Author
  Excerpts
    February 21, 1997
    February 22, 1997
    February 23, 1997
    February 24, 1997
    February 25, 1997
    February 26, 1997
    February 27, 1997
    February 28, 1997
  Reactions & Reviews
  Ordering Information

WEATHERING WINTER
  About the Book
  About the Author
  Excerpts
    Introduction
    December 31, 1994
    January 1, 1995
    January 2, 1995
    January 3, 1995
    January 4, 1995
    January 5, 1995
  Reactions & Reviews
  Ordering Information

MY VEGETABLE LOVE
  About the Book
  About the Author
  Excerpts
    March 16, 1995
    March 17, 1995
    March 18, 1995
    March 19, 1995
    March 20, 1995
    March 21, 1995
    March 22, 1995
    March 23, 1995
  Reactions & Reviews
  Ordering Information

ABOUT THE BOOK (Publisher's Description)

In the months approaching his retirement, acclaimed writing instructor Carl Klaus felt an increasing anxiety about what lay ahead. ``Given such an unsettling state of mind, I decided to start keeping a diary, a diary that might help me work my way through the anguish and anxiety, through the bittersweet feelings so that I could genuinely take retirement rather than feel as if it were taking me unawares." The result is this original and intimate account of a subject rarely explored in literary writing. With quiet courage, Klaus embarks upon the emotional work of retiring from a lifetime of teaching--a difficult task for someone whose sense of self is so strongly tied to his role as a mentor. TAKING RETIREMENT offers many charms: the lively give-and-take between Klaus and his witty wife, Kate; his stories of how colleagues, neighbors, and relatives are handling retirement; and his account of a revelatory trip to the Canadian and American rockies. Refined and thoughtful, this diary of retirement charts a process that we all must face, one that forces the author to confront the deeply disorienting issues of identity and mortality as well as the pleasures of creating a whole new life. For anyone who undergoes a major life change, TAKING RETIREMENT provides a testament to our perennial ability to remake ourselves.