We all live and we die. In between we retire. Yet Austrian born and Texas bred Lola Carlile gave little, if any, thought to retirement. When the big R entered her life, she was taken aback and began amassing amazing experiences one after another; however, some were not that amazing and some downright unpleasant. Using her God-given talent, she began to record the ups and downs of retirement and it is her sincerest hope and prayer that others might benefit from her experiences. Dr. Carlile enjoyed a wonderful career in education and upon her first retirement returned to graduate school to become an art therapist. It was during her semi-retirement between careers that she experienced the myriad ups and downs created by the sudden change in lifestyle manifested in retirement. Carlile engages the reader in a humorous and informal manner, encouraging the reader to write in the book itself and create a positive R experience for the reader.