Official Review: Taking Charge: by Herb Weiss

e-tasana-williams · Post by **e-tasana-williams** » 21 Sep 2019, 16:45

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Taking Charge:" by Herb Weiss.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Who carries America's economy, 30-somethings or baby boomers? How many centenarians (people 100 years old or older) are living in the U.S.? Why does the wage gap between the sexes matter after retirement? In his book Taking Charge: Collected Stories On Aging Boldly, journalist Herb Weiss answers these questions and more in an engaging and informative way. The book is a collection of his newspaper columns on aging, health and wellness taken from Rhode Island newspapers from the last 18 years.

The nearly 300 pages of articles cover many issues faced by aging people, their families and relevant agencies. They also include measures taken by agencies to support aging individuals and the people who care for them.

Topics include student loan debt, prepaying for funerals, unemployment, reinventing oneself after retirement, pet care, and the longevity economy. The articles are grouped into 13 parts based on the issues covered. While they are all from Rhode Island newspapers, they cover subjects, resources and statistics based on federal as well as state research. Especially helpful is the inclusion of links to websites where original articles, research studies and organizational homepages can be found.

Some articles were originally published over a decade ago, but the issues covered are just as relevant today if not more so. For example, Mr. Weiss includes resources to help people with cybersecurity efforts and closing ones parents' estate. The book is a wealth of resources for adults of all ages. Almost all of the pieces contain organization contact names, phone numbers and web addresses for the reader's convenience. Savvy younger adult readers will use this book to help prepare for their future.

Mr. Weiss' target audience is aging baby boomers, but it is relevant for everyone because we are all likely to face at least some of the topics covered as we age. Some chapters review familiar territory, like the articles "Experts: Eat Less and Exercise", "Little Things Count When Deciding on a Nursing Home" and "Palliative Care Can Provide Comfort To Dying Residents". Others introduce topics with which the reader may be unfamiliar, such as "Benefits of Preplanning and Prepaying Your Funeral" and "New Report Warns of Nation's Housing Not Meeting Needs of Older Adults".

One of my favorite parts of Taking Charge is the article covering a middle-aged woman who creates a new career for herself as a photographer after "official" retirement. In stark contrast are the alarming statistics on social security which portray a bleak future for many Americans unprepared for retirement, especially given longer lifespans than ever before. The chapter titled "Music Reduces Agitation In Alzheimer's Patients" was a tender look at people suffering from an often dignity-stealing disease.

Most readers would probably not read this book cover to cover. Because each article stands alone, a reader could easily flip to the sections that interest them most and learn about valuable resources in those areas.

The only drawback of the book lies in its editing oversights. Some errors are minor, like punctuation in the wrong place. Others are significant, like a couple of pages of one article accidentally dropped into the middle of another unrelated one.

I found the information in this book to be extremely valuable and accessible. Armed with these articles, a person will be well-equipped to manage the many challenges they are likely to face as they grow older. But the book's many editing oversights limit my rating of Taking Charge to 3 out of 4 stars. If these were corrected it would easily earn a perfect score.

*****
Important Update: The author has reported that the book has been professionally edited since the time of this review, and thus the editing issue mentioned has been corrected.
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Taking Charge:
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Post by **kandscreeley** » 22 Sep 2019, 15:16

Actually the topics of the articles seem quite relevant. It's nice that you don't have to read this in its entirety but only that which you're looking for at that moment. This is one to keep around.

Helene_2008 · Post by **Helene_2008** » 22 Sep 2019, 18:28

This sounds like an interesting read! I'm probably too young to have use for it now but I'll have to keep it in mind.

jamibozz · Post by **jamibozz** » 22 Sep 2019, 19:42

This book seems really interesting, especially when my husband and I are facing some of the topics presented in the collection of articles. I would definitely sit down and read a few, if not all, of the articles contained in this book.

Corina Elena · Post by **Corina Elena** » 22 Sep 2019, 23:31

Such an up to date read! I enjoy debats on many of these topics a lot. Honestly, I mainly play youtube commentary channels about pay gaps, economy, baby boomers vs millenials each morning while getting ready.
I might read this one.
Great job at reviewing it!

KDJ · Post by **KDJ** » 23 Sep 2019, 12:49

Thank you for your review. These topics will always be relevant, as aging is inevitable. This book will clearly help those who need to plan and prepare for the future; theirs or even their parents. It sounds like a great resource. Thank you for the recommendation.

Miller56 · Post by **Miller56** » 23 Sep 2019, 13:13

This book appears to have relevant topics that readily spark a discussion. I think this book would be great for those really thinking about retiring and what their futures may look like. It also would provide information on topics people may not really think about. I am not sure I would want to read the book from cover to cover, but some of the articles would be great. Thanks for the review.

Rachel Lea · Post by **Rachel Lea** » 23 Sep 2019, 16:14

This book sounds like a very helpful resource! I will definitely check it out. Hopefully, another round of editing will smooth out the punctuation and formatting errors. Thank you for your review!

kdstrack · Post by **kdstrack** » 24 Sep 2019, 14:56

This book shares so much helpful information to help people prepare for retirement. Some of the topics are things you wouldn't consider, like preparing for you funeral instead of leaving that for your family to handle! You have piqued my interest about the other topics in this book. Great review.