When your career becomes your whole identity, retirement can feel like an identity crisis.
Raise your hand if that hits home — no matter how successful your “career” has been. Now raise your hand if you need a bit of help unpacking all this.
If you do, there’s good news. The words are not from a therapist, but a radiologist. One who just happens to be an incredible author — with incredible insights into both the challenges (and the opportunities) that come in the post-career chapter of your life.
Meet Dr. Harry Agress Jr., an emeritus faculty member of Hackensack Meridian Health and the author of the book, “Next Year, Best Years: Taking Your Retirement to The Next Level.”
Agress, who spent 36 years in radiology at Hackensack University Medical Center before retiring at 68 in 2015, has become a nationally recognized lecturer and teacher who now helps others embrace retirement as life’s most vibrant chapter.
But he did so only after discovering new joy, purpose and fulfillment.
For Agress, it was all about blending his passion for medicine with photography — and adding philanthropy. He now donates his artwork to health care centers.
He explained the process in ‘Next Year, Best Years.’
“Retirement isn’t about perfection or chasing recognition — it’s about curiosity, contribution, and connection,” he said. “Once I let go of the need for financial validation and focused on sharing my photographs to bring joy to others, I found a deeper and more lasting fulfillment.”
Agress’ book offers more than 100 engagement ideas and more than 60 best-practice references. He calls it a resource guide for a fulfilling future.
“Wisdom comes not just from knowledge but from weaving together our passions, experiences, and relationships into a network that allows us to create, connect, and contribute in new ways,” he said. “That’s where fulfillment in these years is truly found.”
Agress’ journey has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and on the Today Show. He currently is partnering with HMH by donating copies of his book for physician lounges.
In 2026, he will be leading a CME course to physicians about the transition to retirement.
Spoiler alert: Agress said retirement can be filled with surprises — even for the most driven.
“The great surprise of my retirement is how opportunities I never imagined — donating art to hospitals, honoring my father’s legacy, teaching students — became sources of joy,” he said. “By opening my mind, taking action, and cherishing each new experience, I discovered not an ending but a beginning.”
Raise your hand if you want that.
