This is a compassionate yet realistic portrayal of women professionals “of a certain age.” More than typical research studies of such organizations as AARP, MetLife, and Pew, this investigation in truly distinctive by providing all readers at least one role model with whom to relate. The book’s quality rests on, one, the credentials of author Fideler, a well-experienced professional who recently started as a research fellow for Boston College’s Sloan Center on Aging and Work. And, two, the range of survey participants. Chapters are segmented into sociological and demographic components: where they work, why they work, personal challenges and concerns, and volunteerism. The results manage to spill out of the rigid confines of facts and figures, and numbers and trends, to capture the reader’s attention and empathy. Meet Amy Kaiser, the director of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, who’s been at her job for more than a decade; or Dollye M.E. Robinson, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Jackson (Miss.) State University, who, although refusing to state her age, is as vibrant as much younger contemporaries. Inspiration is best summarized by interviewee Susan Damour, who says 'If you are passionate about something, go make it happen. Meet a need. Ability is ageless.'

Booklist, Starred Review

This is a paean to the achievements and tenacity of women who remain gainfully employed in their sixties and beyond. Fideler (research fellow, Sloan Ctr. on Aging & Work, Boston Coll.) focuses on women who thrive in long-held jobs or in work they’ve refashioned for themselves. It dovetails nicely with Ari Seth Cohen’s Advanced Style, which observes older women who redefine what old age looks like. Brava to all these women. . . . Fideler rightly admires her subjects. . . . Verdict For those interested in women’s history and the evolution of the workplace.

Library Journal

Fideler’s narrative is not the dry, rigid prose of a scientific article. It is, instead, lively, hopeful, and even emotional—she is speaking directly to women, particularly to us older women, sparking our confidence and encouraging us through the eyes of others. . . . Her in-depth portrayals of the 34 women are thorough and enlightening. Each woman’s character is an open book, revealed through her thoughts, ambitions, challenges, and love of life. As a woman nearing the “older” generation and of a moderate socioeconomic status, because of reading this book, I feel quite inspired to rethink what 'retirement' means to me and I would heartily recommend it to others in a similar situation.

Monthly Labor Review

Fideler tells the stories of older working women, backing them up with comparisons to national data and the latest research. Her stories are particularly compelling as they document the lives of a group of women who have been rejecting social norms all along the way, with working in retirement being the latest iteration. Hers is just the kind of groundbreaking work that spawns more theory and research for a new stage of life that is yet to be fully delineated.

Jacquelyn B. James, director of research, Sloan Center on Aging & Work; research professor, Boston College

In exploring the phenomenon of older working women, Elizabeth Fideler weaves together substantive interviews and contemporary statistical data to create a very optimistic work. The strong, vibrant older women who shared their stories with Fideler are compelling examples of the benefits of staying on the job and 'off the shelf' in later life. Fideler’s evident empathy with her subjects allows her to unveil the 'personal truths' of their lives in an even-handed and comprehensive manner. While the high-powered women interviewed here are by no means typical, they provide wonderful examples of the importance of mentoring, persistence and positivity for women who have the opportunities to stay active and engaged in the workplace well beyond modern thresholds of old age.

Susannah Ottaway, Carleton College

Elizabeth F. Fideler has provided an extraordinary study on older women who continue to work in the labor force of this nation. The case studies of these women are beautifully written and presented, as if the author is having a conversation with the subjects and the readers.

Charles V. Willie, Charles William Eliot Professor Emeritus, Harvard Graduate School of Education