Repacking Your Bags: Lighten Your Load for the Rest of Your Life

Rating:
Summary: Book Discussion
Review: The GSA Human Resources' Employee Resource Center GRAB Bookclub enjoyed a lively discussion of Repacking Your Bags.
Its good for those of us who are still wondering what to do for the rest of our lives.
We enjoyed the many individual stories put into the book, especially the authors' very own.
It helped to know that there are other ways to do things, when we are so used to doing it a certain way all the time.
In conclusion, it was very good reading!


Rating:
Summary: Truly one of the best books I've ever read.
Review: This book is a must for every mid-lifer wondering where you've been and what direction you'd like to take for the second half of your life.

Rating:
Summary: Generally helpful, but very couple-oriented
Review: This book is a pleasant, amusing, readable way of addressing the major issues that confront one at midlife: Am I living a life that accords with my values, ideals, and talents? If not, what specifically needs to be changed so I can achieve this? I found the "unpacking" metaphor especially appealing because (as an ardent traveler) I well know the real-life value of traveling light; it was rather astonishing to me to discover how much of a pack rat I've been in other aspects of my life! On the other hand, as a single person with many friends but no life partner (and no desire for one), I found that the authors' couple orientation rendered many of the exercises virtually useless for me. I agree that love is an important part of a full, satisfying life, but defining love as marriage, or the equivalent, seems ridiculously confining! Otherwise, the book is a pleasure to read, and most of the exercises gave me useful insights, so I recommend it with reservations.

Rating:
Summary: Generally helpful, but very couple-oriented
Review: This book is a pleasant, amusing, readable way of addressing the major issues that confront one at midlife: Am I living a life that accords with my values, ideals, and talents? If not, what specifically needs to be changed so I can achieve this? I found the "unpacking" metaphor especially appealing because (as an ardent traveler) I well know the real-life value of traveling light; it was rather astonishing to me to discover how much of a pack rat I've been in other aspects of my life! On the other hand, as a single person with many friends but no life partner (and no desire for one), I found that the authors' couple orientation rendered many of the exercises virtually useless for me. I agree that love is an important part of a full, satisfying life, but defining love as marriage, or the equivalent, seems ridiculously confining! Otherwise, the book is a pleasure to read, and most of the exercises gave me useful insights, so I recommend it with reservations.

Rating:
Summary: A Solid Effort!
Review: This book is directed to those who want to unburden and redefine their lives. Authors Richard J. Leider and David A. Shapiro encourage readers to re-evaluate their daily lives: relationships, work places, home, and purpose. They present their suggestions for the metaphorical "unpacking and repacking" of life's excess "baggage" in an easy-to-read, sensitive, and even humorous way. Suggestions and exercises encourage you to reexamine what is truly important. Though sometimes redundant, they provide encouraging, thought-provoking material. Reading this book may cause you to have a mid-life crisis "on purpose" and begin to live like Thoreau, "deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life." We [...] recommend this book for those who want to simplify their lives and reassess their priorities.

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