Interview With Mid-Life Self-Help Author Sarah Barry

  

Q1. What is your award-winning book, 9 Habits of Happy Retirees, about?

Most retirement books talk about money. This one doesn't. 9 Habits of Happy Retirees looks at the side of retirement that catches most people off guard: the identity shifts, the loss of structure, the quiet question of who you are when the job title is gone. It walks readers through nine practical habits covering mindset, health, social connection, lifelong learning, purpose, volunteering, and adventure. The goal isn't to motivate people. It's to give them something useful: an honest, grounded guide to designing a retirement that actually feels like theirs. It won the Independent Press Award and the Literary Titan Gold Book Award in 2026.

 

Q2. As a retirement author, what are the three things too many people get wrong about retirement?

The first is assuming that financial readiness equals retirement readiness. It doesn't. You can have a solid nest egg and still feel completely lost on day thirty. The second is underestimating the identity piece. For many people, their job was a huge part of who they were. When it ends, there's a real grief process that nobody warned them about. The third is expecting retirement to feel like a permanent holiday. It doesn't, at least not for long. Without purpose, structure, and meaningful connection, even the most comfortable retirement can start to feel empty. Planning for how you will spend your time is just as important as planning for how you will fund it.

 

Q3. What do you say to someone in mid-life looking to retire in a decade or less?

Financial planning is not my lane, and there are much better people than me to advise on that. What I would say is this: start thinking about who you are outside of your work right now, not the week before you retire. The people who transition most smoothly are those who already have a sense of themselves beyond the job. Build friendships that aren't tied to your workplace. Develop interests that don't depend on your professional identity. The financial side matters, but so does knowing what you're retiring to, not just what you're retiring from.

 

Q4. You say there are secrets to discovering a fulfilling retirement. Spill a few.

The first is that fulfillment in retirement is built, not found. It doesn't arrive automatically when you stop working. You have to create it deliberately. The second is that structure matters more than people expect. Not a rigid schedule, but a loose framework that gives your days shape and meaning. The third is that identity needs to be renegotiated. The most fulfilled retirees I work with are those who ask themselves honestly: who am I now, separate from what I did? That question is uncomfortable, but answering it changes everything. Purpose doesn't disappear at retirement. It just needs a new address.

 

Q5. There are many books on retirement. What makes yours different?

Most retirement books either focus on finances or paint an unrealistically rosy picture of what lies ahead. This one does neither. It talks honestly about the disenchantment phase: the point where the initial excitement fades, and people are left wondering what comes next. It addresses identity loss, social isolation, and the very real challenge of building a new sense of purpose. And it does this through nine habits that are practical and immediately applicable, not abstract. It also comes from someone who coaches real people through real transitions, not just someone who researched the topic. That makes a difference.

 

Q6. What do you say to people who fear retiring too soon: that they will run out of money or be bored?

The money question is one for a financial advisor. But the boredom question, that one I can speak to. Boredom in retirement is rarely about time. It's about the absence of purpose and connection. The people who struggle most are those who retire from something without retiring to something. The antidote isn't staying at work longer. It's getting clearer, well before retirement, about what gives your life meaning beyond your career. When you have that clarity, you don't retire into a vacuum. You retire into something that is genuinely yours.

 

Q7. Why do people wait for retirement to become the people they always wanted to be?

Because work is a very convenient excuse. It fills the calendar, justifies the delay, and lets us tell ourselves that the real version of our lives is just around the corner. But retirement has a way of calling that bluff. When the diary is suddenly empty, the question of who you actually are, without the role, the routine, and the colleagues, can feel confronting. The people who thrive are those who start answering that question early. Not by overhauling their lives overnight, but by quietly and consistently investing in the parts of themselves that have nothing to do with their job title.

 

About The Author: Sarah Barry is a Certified Professional Retirement and Life Transition Coach, author, and global citizen who has lived and worked across Gibraltar, the UK, Australia, Japan, and Dubai, UAE. Her work focuses on the side of retirement that financial planning doesn't cover: identity, purpose, structure, and what it actually means to design a life after a long career. She is the author of 9 Habits of Happy Retirees, winner of the Independent Press Award and the Literary Titan Gold Book Award in 2026, and several other titles on life and work transition. Sarah works with people who are not in crisis, but in change. Website: sarahbarry.com  

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About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 6,400,000 page views. With 5,600+ posts over the past 15 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2026.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully) and (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/10-things-my-dog-taught-me-about-marketing-books). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, three times at BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, five times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum