So, Is Retirement Supposed to Suck?: A Compilation of Life's little Disappointments by George M. Dean
What's It About?
“So, Is Retirement Supposed to Suck?” is a whimsical, misanthropic recount of the author’s upbringing and early retirement, explaining why retirement is not what it’s cracked up to be and how others can learn from his mistakes.A lot can happen when you run away from home.
In the span of a couple of weeks, how about: your 18-year-old sister also has left home, your dad has retired from the Army, and, oh, right, your parents have moved to a new house.
And that’s to say nothing of the repercussions of running away in the first place, or what then-15-year-old George M. Dean calls “taking a short vacation and, hey, I left you a note,” in his book, So, Is Retirement Supposed to Suck?
The subtitle, “A Compilation of Life’s Little Disappointments,” is fitting for the author, who notes, “I’ve come to find that life is full of surprises, and rarely for the better.” Dean turns the travails of his life into a stream of anecdotes, first detailing his childhood and later years and leading right up to his experience as a retiree.
Childhood to Retirement
The first half of the book takes us through Dean’s upbringing, Spring Break, summer jobs, graduations, nights in jail, therapy sessions, roommates, apartments, relationships, you name it.
If George’s temporary escape from his immediate family was one of the defining moments in his early life — with a Midnight Cowboy-like experience into the depths of New York City, illicit sexual encounters and all — then certainly his later transition into retirement is the centerpiece of the story.
George is forced to retire after 38 years as a table-games dealer, not by choice but for health reasons — he is a lung transplant recipient.
An Unhappy Camper
And it doesn’t make the author a happy camper. He attacks everything from medical receptionists keeping him on excessive “hold” to getting passwords rejected for not meeting the rules criteria to getting kicked from behind by a young boy on a plane flight to being inundated by supplier surveys.
In a telling observation, he even finds that showing his wife of 19 years that he still loves her — while he does — gets harder and harder on a routine basis.
But Dean can revert to the whimsical: “My desire for marriage has to do with my loathing for laundry … It’s a tedious chore that I would wish on somebody else!”
A Lifetime of Obstacles
And if your company supplies transportation, cable TV services, computers, toilet paper, insurance, medical billing or any of a host of other products — steer clear of the wrath of George M. Dean. Even birthday celebrations don’t get off easy.
In So, Is Retirement Supposed to Suck?, George M. Dean has a lot to say about his early years, and how what he was subjected to as a child had a strong impact on how he turned out as an adult. Retirement for Dean has not been whistling a happy tune, as he tries to stave off obstacles at every turn — the people with whom he interacts and the policies, programs and products with which he deals, and of course the matter of his health.
Is there any contentment at the end of the rainbow? Read this revealing book and be your own judge.
About George M. Dean:
George M. Dean is best described as a misanthropic, disenchanted individual who is at war — mostly with himself. George vents through his writing, which resulted in this book. Think Larry David, but even more disgruntled. Now that he’s retired, he has plenty of time and new things to yammer on about. George prefers to cast blame for his failures onto his parents, citing his abhorrent upbringing. Nowadays, since his parents have sadly left us, he is happily married to a lovely shrew, who has taken over where his parents left off. Call it masochism, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
