April 14, 2005

MINNEAPOLIS – Seventy-seven million Americans are fast approaching retirement, most of them ill-prepared financially, mentally, and spiritually for their golden years. The baby boom generation during the 18 years following World War II has enjoyed an affluence their Depression-era parents lacked. On retirement, they will have another quarter-century more to live, but only a minority grasp what they are living for.

David Yount's Celebrating the Rest of Your Life: A Baby Boomer's Guide to Spirituality provides practical and spiritual strategies for the rest of their lives.

Retirement is badly named, claims the author: it is not a retreat from life but only from a nine-to-five existence toiling on someone else's agenda. As you age, Yount believes your life should expand, not contract, and your spirit should grow. When retirement is in sight, it is prime time to stretch your mind, drop your emotional guard, invest in others, and cultivate community beyond those who live within your domestic walls.

"David Yount is aging like good wine and his writing is getting deeper, smoother, and more rewarding. If you are thirsting for meaning, Yount serves a rich glass of comfort, strength, and inspiration." – Peter Copeland, bureau chief, Scripps Howard News Service.

"David has taken the familiar vows of marriage . . . and used them as road markers for a spiritual journey millions of us are making through middle age. Here is a rich yet accessible volume that feeds us an elegant meal of reflections, just when we have developed a discriminating palate best able to appreciate what we have and what we have been through." – Rev. Thomas A. Prinz, pastor, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Leesburg, VA.

"David Yount is a balding bard whose plainspoken poetic prose bespeaks the heroic courage of all who embrace life's autumnal season not as burden but as blessing. Every time I encounter David . . . I come away spirituality uplifted, with renewed commitment to ‘live big' for as long as my own carousel ride, with all its ups and downs, continues." – Michael Cooper-White, president, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, PA.

David Yount is vice chairman of the Washington Theological Consortium. A syndicated columnist and television host, he has written eight books, including The Future of Christian Faith in America (Augsburg Books, 2004).

Format: Paperback, 176 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches; Item No: 0806651717; Publisher: Augsburg Books, Price: $12.99.

To order Celebrating the Rest of Your Life please call Augsburg Fortress at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at http://www.augsburgfortress.com/.

Augsburg Fortress