The Retirement Plan

Sue Hincenbergs’ novel The Retirement Plan was first introduced to me through an Instagram account. My friend Glenda was pictured proudly holding up a book to announce her cousin Sue had published her first book. Intrigued by her post, I just had to get my own copy. I’m so glad I did.

The Retirement Plan is an entertaining read about 3 rightfully pissed off women who come up with their own plan in response to their husbands mismanaging their retirement funds. Of course, their plan of murder and collecting life insurance is highly illegal and improbable, it is somehow a lighthearted adventure and at times made me laugh out loud. When my husband took notice of my laughter he inquired about the plot of the book and slept with one eye open for several nights.

Hincenbergs was able to create believable characters doing not so believable things. I could relate to many of the wives’ frustrations with their respective husbands. I cheered when an initially reluctant wife made the decision to join the murder plot because her husband ate her leftover Pad Thai without permission. While I hope I would never commit murder for such an atrocity, I understood the frustration. The Retirement Plan is a quick read – see-sawing between laughs and tension – cheering on the wives’ far out scheme of murder.

While the book did not inspire me to off my husband, the author certainly motivated me to continue with my own writing journey. As one of the speakers at this year’s The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Deep Dive conference, Hincenbergs explained her writing story. After a full career in television production, she went full speed ahead, not only honing her writing skills

but also learning about the process of how to get a book deal. In April, at the Blue Heron Book Drunkard Festival, I had the opportunity to meet Hincenbergs personally. In our conversation she re-iterated her mantra which kept her going, there are lots of published authors out there, “why not me?”

While I am not using Hincenbergs’ novel as advice for my retirement plan, I am heeding her words to continue my own writing journey. Why not me?