Today, Feathered Quill reviewer Ellen Feld is talking with Clint Adams, author of Live & Learn: A Retiree's Guide to Keep Going.
FQ: Tell our readers a little about yourself. Your background, your interests, and how this led to writing a book?
ADAMS: Well, I’ve been around a while. So have others. I’m hoping they (near-retirees, retirees, seniors) will be able to embrace their worth, their purpose after their careers have come to an end. Live & Learn: A Retiree’s Guide to Keep Going is written for them.
These last 30+ years of my life have been lived exclusively to learn, accept and be grateful. In 1991, I had a life-changing event that altered my life dramatically. These years were/are my university and have provided me with the authority to share my knowledge and wisdom with you, the reader.
Life’s lessons learned lend credibility. At 66, I unequivocally believe lessons learned are our life’s purpose.
FQ: Tell us a little about your book – a brief synopsis and what makes your book unique.
ADAMS: Live & Learn is about the infinite power of lessons learned. Several of my lessons (tests, obstacles, etc.) are shared for the purpose of you reflecting on your own. Optional exercises exist at the end of every chapter for you to recognize and appreciate what you've intentionally learned from them.
Written for people of ALL ages because personal development (of any kind) adds meaning to life. Whether you're younger or more mature, if you're always on the go or slowing down, your soul's stopwatch remains perpetually active.
Genre: Spiritual self-help for seniors; mid-life management; motivational.
Different because it’s a spiritual book that refers to no set, established spiritual practice or religion. All about learning from life itself. Period.
FQ: What was the impetus for writing your book?
ADAMS: Through observation and research, I discovered a colossal need right in my own backyard. At a gym in Silicon Valley, California, the land of über-achievers. These are folks I admire completely, but what about when their careers come to an end? All that built-up ambition and desire to achieve? What’s next for them when they face retirement? This is when many ask, “Why?” “Why did I live this life?” “What does it mean?” “Why am I here?”
Live & Learn provides the answer. It’s meant to keep them going. Not to achieve but to learn from the life they’ve lived and continue to live. Lessons learned = life’s true purpose. Accepting this provides much needed value for those who wonder what’s next.
FQ: Where do you think you’ve improved the most in your writing process and ability and how do you think you have evolved?
ADAMS: Easy, one of the lessons that was provided to me I chose to learn from: compassion for others. I spent most of my early life being quite self-involved and I feel that my awareness of others now is reflected in my current writing.
Live & Learn is mostly written in the second person (you). Many self-help books are. All about the reader. Non-fiction pure and simple. No story, no plot or character development. The reader is the protagonist, and the story is theirs.
I love switching genres, but writing this book seems to have been the most natural. Grateful to have had the opportunity to write it. After having previously written in first and third, second person is my favorite.
FQ: How do you approach a new story and when you set pen to paper, is there a specific process you follow (or do you just write and let your story take the lead to where it must go)?
ADAMS: Another adage: Mostly every reader (when reading) sees themselves within the story, whether fact or fiction. They are ghost protagonists. The content presented in Live & Learn is cumulative. One tip builds upon the previous. The reader is asked to draw upon their own experiences and lessons.
My hope is that the reader will want to remain engaged, because motivation grows as much as each page is turned. Whether they participate in the (optional) exercises that exist at the end of every chapter or not, they, should conceivably be wiser at THE END than they were on the first page of Chapter 1.
FQ: If you were to teach a class on the art of writing, what is the one item you would be sure to share with your students and how would you inspire them to get started?
ADAMS: One? How about one thousand? OK, one that should be new to no one: “Write what you know.” This is a staple in every Creative Writing 101 class, but it’s true. It’s true because there’s nothing more powerful than the truth. And, in my opinion, truth is indeed more interesting than fiction.
A synonym for truth: authenticity. Even when writing creatively, fiction works best when it’s believable. Nothing more potent than that.
FQ: How did you approach the need to keep readers engaged and tuned in to keep turning those pages?
ADAMS: Another adage: Mostly every reader (when reading) sees themselves within the story, whether fact or fiction. They are ghost protagonists. The content presented in Live & Learn is cumulative. One tip builds upon the previous. The reader is asked to draw upon their own experiences and lessons.
My hope is that the reader will want to remain engaged, because motivation grows as much as each page is turned. Whether they participate in the (optional) exercises that exist at the end of every chapter or not, they, should conceivably be wiser at THE END than they were on the first page of Chapter 1.
FQ: Why did you decide to write this book? Did you see a need?
ADAMS: To a certain extent, this question has already been answered, but let’s get real. Honest. At 65, last year, when looking back at my life (as many others do at this age), I saw failure. Or to be most precise, by societal standards, I have been a massive failure. Not many of my goals were attained, I achieved little success until I realized that accomplishing and achieving have nothing at all to do with our true life’s purpose.
My life over the past 30+ years has revolved around all things spiritual. When I look back from a more enlightened perspective, I chose to learn from circumstances I never would have chosen. Now, I am thankful for them all merely because I learned from them. My life, looking back, is filled with value and worth because of what I’ve chosen to learn from it. (No ego, but...) My life has been hugely successful. I hope readers see their lives the same way.
FQ: How much research went into writing your book?
ADAMS: Like I already said, my research has been my ability to look back to my own experiences. But, I know, that’s not sufficient. In the 200+ pages of Live & Learn, I cite about forty-five sources, articles from highly credible sources (The Washington Post, Boston School of Medicine, Yahoo! Finance, and more). Statistics, accumulated data, studies, interviews all available to the reader via live links (in all ebook editions of Live & Learn). Links are also listed in the Notes section of the print editions.
Now, research continues as I make my best effort to match up the content of this book with its target market (near-retirees, retirees). Market research is never ending.
FQ: Tell us about your research process? Where did you go, how much time you spent, travel to other parts of the country, world, etc.
ADAMS: The most valuable tool available to any writer: the Internet. In many instances, I added these citations after the fact. I had already written the content, then to add authenticity, credibility to any notion I’d already come up with, I wanted to bolster proof, validation. So, I did. My goal was to add at least two professional sources to every chapter. It makes a difference, especially to those that may question my authority.
On a side note, related to travel, having lived in different countries added to my perspective. In 2004, I became an Italian citizen. I kept my American passport as well, but I learned so much from becoming acquainted with other ways of life. From 2004-2011, I lived in Italy, Denmark, Germany, Spain, and England.
Right off the back, Italians reminded me that, “We work to live. You Americans live to work.” Yikes! Italians are the second longest-living population on Earth. Maybe for a reason.
FQ: What was the most difficult part of writing this book?
ADAMS: Saying “goodbye” to the reader. Written in second person like I’d said, I saw this whole creative writing experience as a conversation. A back and forth. I took the readers’ needs as seriously as my own. No difference between my needs and those reading my words. We’re in this together. If I have the capacity to help one reader via the creation and publication of this book, LIVE & LEARN is a tremendous success.
For more information on Live & Learn: A Retiree's Guide to Keep Going, please visit the author's website at: www.clintadams.com/
Thanks so much, Ellen!
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