Author

Helen Waldstein Wilkes PhD is an energized octogenarian who has lived a richly rewarding life and hopes to continue doing so for years to come. Helen fled the Nazi’s with her family in 1939 and came to Canada where they struggled to adapt as farmers. Helen was educated in Canada but earned her doctorate (Renaissance French literature) in the U.S. She spent 30 years teaching and developing research interests that include cross-cultural understanding, language acquisition, and neurolinguistics. Retirement has brought her inner transformation and the freedom to examine her cultural inheritance and its impact. Through this journey, Helen has found a way to show others a path to a life full of passion and purpose.

The book, The Aging of Aquarius

Live your passion and purpose and change the world as an empowered elder.

Your career has wound down, the kids have moved, and your schedule is clear…for the next 30 years.

In your youth, you cared about people and planet earth, and you had grand visions of changing the world. At some point, those passions and that sense of purpose got buried under diapers and the 9-5. Still, that old you remains alive. Now, with the rest of your life ahead, you can be the change and make this next stage of your life the most powerful yet.

But where to start?

Helen Wilkes, a retired professor and activist, takes readers on an inspiring journey to find renewed purpose in retirement. Along the way she helps readers navigate the transition to a post-work identity by fanning the embers of lost passions and developing new interests.

Whether you are drawn to gardening clubs, to social justice issues, political campaigning, ethical investing, or creativity through the arts, The Aging of Aquarius offers inspiration, practical steps, and extra resources to help reignite your passion, your sense of purpose, and to effect real change in the world as an empowered elder.