Shipwrecks and renewal

Alan Heeks considers the need for older men to re-invent themselves

by Alan Heeks 16th March 2012

Somewhere between their mid-forties and late seventies all men will face a series of major or minor shipwrecks: redundancy, retirement, divorce, kids leaving home, health problems. Every shipwreck contains a heartbreak and a gift: there is a loss to grieve and the freedom of being cast up on an unknown shore. There is the challenge of making fresh choices. What is most poignant about these shipwrecks is that many men do not have the skills to reinvent themselves and to make the best of these situations.