Today’s baby boomers are facing a combination of unprecedented challenges: their aging parents need care, adult children are moving back home, and their plans for a relaxing retirement are being smashed, forcing boomers back into the workplace. According to author Terry Hargrave, it’s the most profound sociological shift since World War II.

Author Terry Hargrave identifies, examines and offers insight into all three factors in Boomers on the Edge: Three Realities That Will Change Your Life Forever (Zondervan, paperback, $14.99), a timely book for meeting the current and upcoming challenges of a generation that once redefined America, but now finds itself “on the edge.” Hargrave views the realities as opportunities for boomers to survive and flourish, build a legacy, and grow deeper in their faith.

A Closer Look at the Three Realities
A sea of statistics support Hargrave’s claims, beginning with caring for parents. “Medicine in the last century has made enormous strides in fighting the effects of disease and injury. In one hundred years, average longevity has increased more than thirty years,” says Hargrave. Today’s boomers, who are in their 50s and 60s, are in charge of caring for their parents, who often live well into their 80s and 90s.

Hargrave dubs boomers the first “Caregiving Generation” because of the new factors they are facing, from “The Big Three Transitions: House, Money, and Car,” to coping with “The Three D’s: Depression, Dementia, and Death,” adding levels of complexity into extended caregiving that never existed before.

In addition, boomer parents are also dealing with a generation of “twixters,” young adults delaying the responsibilities of adulthood. “Many adult children have significant debt, limited earning power, and the inability to afford a place of their own. The solution is clear: young people move back home,” says Hargrave. In addition, adult children often struggle with broken relationships, divorce or career indecision, forcing boomers to adapt a new style of parenting, testing the limits and stretching the boundaries.

Finally, with inadequate savings, skyrocketing medical expenses and longer life expectancies, boomers are watching dreams of retirement fade away. “The economic reality is clear: retirement for the boomer generation will be very different. A life of leisure is probably not in the cards. We will be the generation that retires en masse, only to go back to work,” Hargrave says. However, the news isn’t all bad.

Despite the growing list of challenges and problems, Hargrave writes purposefully, encouraging baby boomers beyond statistics and identifying problems. Instead, he offers practical advice and detailed plans for each major issue, giving boomers a game plan for meeting the challenges. “I don’t know all we will learn from our difficulties, but perhaps over everything else we will grasp the value of relationships. Perhaps we will learn that loyalty, faithfulness and courage are much more reliable and valuable than our bank accounts or retirement portfolios,” Hargrave says.

Available through local booksellers and online at amazon.com or at www.zondervan.com.

Claire Yezbak Fadden is the Associate Editor of LifeAfter50.com.