Amelie M. Mothie

Life After Retirement: Joining the Peace Corps at Sixty-seven Amelie M. Mothie

Life After Retirement shares the story of Amelie Mothie's experiences after retirement, when, at the age of sixty-seven, she joined the Peace Corps. She had entertained the idea for a long time; she longed to learn more about the people of whom her grandmother had spoken so freely throughout her childhood. It was a big decision to go to Africa and to leave everything behind to pursue her dream, but she finally did it two years after retirement. She had heard many stories of disease and poverty in Africa, but she was encouraged by her belief that African countries had done much more in a few decades of independence than their colonial governments had done in centuries. She was fascinated by the African personalities that had begun to emerge through literature, arts, music, sports, and fashion. Her two-year term in West Africa was full of exhilarating moments as well as many painful, frustrating, and discouraging instances of dealing with the ravages of disease and poverty. In the end, for her, all the bad days were worth it in light of the good memories she shared with her new African friends and other volunteers.