In 2016, I co-founded RetireeRebels.com as a way of reaching retirees, letting them know they are not alone. For most new retirees, this stage of life is disorienting. We think we know what retirement is like – leisurely carefree bliss — but when we get there, we find the whole retirement paradigm today has changed.
I know this because I was more than confused, I was scared. Overnight people began treating me as if I was old, doddering, and without value. As a free-lance writer, currently of essays, podcasts and — knock-on-wood — my soon-to-be first published novel, I had a hard time getting people to take me seriously. I was viewed as someone whose life was over merely because I’d hit a certain age and decided to take my pension.
To be honest, Retiree Rebels came about because I got pissed. In 2010, when I decided to take early retirement, I saw this as a new stage of life in which to discover new goals and ambitions. Little did I know I would have to fight for the right to pursue my new dreams.
So for two years, my friend Mary Helen Conroy and I explored this new territory, and created podcasts to inform and inspire other retirees to move beyond the ageist stereotypes.
Why podcasts? Because broadcasting is what I know. I worked for 33 years in radio and TV, bringing home an Emmy, two duPont Columbia Awards for Journalism and other awards.
Today, I am an award-winning writer, a member of Wisconsin Women Entrepreneurs, Wisconsin Sisters in Crime, and co-founder of Writers Must Eat! and am proud to hold Emeritus status from UW-Extension.