Coming Soon!
EXQUISITELY BORED
FINDING FULFILLMENT IN RETIREMENT
Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indigo, and Audible.
44,000+ Booksellers Globally!
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About The Book
Who Are The Exquisitely Bored
They are not an age, they are not one style, and they certainly are not predictable. The exquisitely bored are interested in one thing: what’s next for me? It’s about finding satisfaction and staying connected in your post-career life while living to your full potential.
Rethinking The Traditional Retirement
Retirement is not an age. It is not bound by skills, passion or talent. It’s time to challenge the traditional notion of retirement. It’s not just about finances, it’s about finding new ways to achieve fulfillment and satisfaction using your skills, talent and aspirations to find new meaning.
A Phased Approach
The phases that one moves through upon retirement are complex and rife with challenge. This book outlines the various stages that one is most often met with when it comes to understanding the intricacies of retired life.
RISE
RISE: retire, insight, seek & earn. RISE embodies the premise of exquisitely bored. Seeing retirement more as a continuous process throughout our lives instead of one final stage means it can become an individual choice. We can give permission to challenge timelines, expectations and social constructs.
Advanced Praise for Exquisitely Bored
“This book is a mic drop on the myth of retirement! The Exquisitely Bored is bold, liberating, and exactly what we need to reimagine the “what’s next” chapter - not as a wind-down, but a full-on glow-up. It’s smart, soulful, and just irreverent enough to shake you out of autopilot. If you’ve got that “Is this all there is?” itch, this one’s speaking directly to you.”
“28 years ago. when I was 60, I decided to retire. A colleague warned me, “Don’t do it! The actuarial tables say that you will probably be dead in 2 to 3 years.”
Had I known Joanne then, I would have invited my “bored” friend to meet her and hear all about exquisitely bored retirement. Now, after we have experienced almost three decades of a fulfilling retirement, my wife and I can wholeheartedly confirm and endorse the vision that inspires this book.”
“A thought-provoking and inspiring perspective on retirement. By encouraging readers to shift their mindset and actively design this next chapter, it redefines retirement not as an end, but as a vibrant journey of self-discovery, lifelong learning, and meaningful contribution.”
“A Beautiful Reimagining of What Comes Next. Joanne Clark’s book is a powerful and hopeful reframe of retirement... not as an ending, but as a continuation. It invites us to pause and consider that this next chapter isn’t about winding down, but about bringing our whole self forward.
By the time we reach retirement, we carry decades of lived experience, hard-earned wisdom, and a deeper understanding of who we are. This book honors all of that. It reminds us that retirement is not a void to be filled with busywork. Instead, it’s an opportunity to shape our days with intention. To finally ask: What do I want this chapter to mean? What do I want to give my time, my energy, and my heart to, now that I have more say in it?
With quiet contemplation and compassionate insight, the author offers a guide to embracing these later years with renewed purpose. There is inspiration here. Not just to do more, but to be more connected to ourselves and what matters most. It’s about making meaning, not just managing time.
This book is for anyone wondering what’s next. Not in fear, but in freedom. And it’s a deeply hopeful companion for those ready to live this next season not by default, but by design.”
Joanne Clark
About the Author
Joanne Clark has over 25 years of marketing and PR experience in global roles with some of the world’s largest brands. Her experience leading high performing teams spans both private and public sectors. She is the founder of Exquisitely Bored, where she creates engaging and innovative content strategies for home and lifestyle brands. Joanne believes that a well curated home, full of personal expression, is fundamental to living the good life. Her philosophy embodies that your home is an evolving, magical place and what you can create is how you romanticise your life and find style in everything around you. And for anyone who needs to hear it: your new throw pillows look stunning!
The culture that has been built around retirement was originally tied to age expectancy, but that isn’t the reality of the world we live in today. We’re living longer, and we’re living younger… We need to see the potential for what our exquisitely bored can be, no matter our age!
