In this inspirational book, beloved broadcast journalist Jane Pauley helps people in the middle of their lives successfully navigate a “reinvention” phase and build a positive, powerful future.Everyone is talking about “reinvention.” President Obama used the term nine times in a State of the Union address. Magazines, newspapers, and online blogs frequently devote coverage to the topic. But even though people are ready to reinvent themselves, many simply don’t know where to start. Jane Pauley is here to help. A familiar face on morning, daytime, and primetime television for more than thirty years, Pauley hosts the award-winning “Your Life Calling” segment on the Today show, profiling many remarkable yet relatable people over fifty whose personal reinvention informs and inspires. They include Betsy, a fifty-seven-year-old healthcare executive who left corporate life to make her cherished pastime—knitting—her full-time occupation. And Paul, fifty-three, who left information technology, where he felt like he “masqueraded as a computer geek for twenty years,” built a brick oven in his own backyard, and resolved to open a pizzeria. And did! Gid, a self-described jack-of-all-trades, who admitted to being easily bored, found his calling at sixty-one on the comedy stage, performing in clubs, churches, and on cruises. Gid discovered that Baby Boomers are a lucky generation: “They get a do-over.” With insight and wit, Pauley tells her own story as well. Her warm and often funny perspective makes this book a deeply personal, rewarding, and very timely read. Your Life Calling is filled with practical ideas, inspiration, and motivation for anyone who knows the yearning for “something different” or “something more.”

The author relates her childhood in Indiana, her early career as a broadcast journalist, her years at NBC with Today and Dateline NBC, her battle with depression and bipolar disorder, and her attempts to both rediscover and redefine herself at mid-life. Reprint.