Books
Books by Mike Bellah
Honest and hopeful answers to the questions readers are asking about retirement, purpose, faith and joy.
New2026Should I Retire Tomorrow? What Will I Lose If I Don’t?
How Opportunity Cost Tells You When to Retire
Do you want to retire but are afraid of what you will lose if you pull the plug too soon—things like lost wages, a reduced pension and social security benefits? Should money be your only concern?
2026Walking at 60, 70 and Beyond
Inspiring stories and stunning photos to get you outdoors and on your feet
Do you walk? Would you like to walk? Would you like to like to walk? This is not a book about walking for exercise. This is a book about walking for joy—“Because,” says Dr. Bellah, “if you love to walk, you’ll get all the exercise you need.”
#1 Bestseller20221001 Fun Things To Do in Retirement
Would you like to ride the world’s highest cog train in Manitou Springs, Colorado? How about learning to surf in Oceanside, California? Or would you enjoy being pulled by sled dogs in Wasilla, Alaska? Mike Bellah says there are 1,001 fun things to do in retirement.
2019The Best Is Yet To Be
Discovering the Secret to a Creative, Happy Retirement
When college professor Mike Bellah took an early buyout, he expected the golden years to live up to the carefree, happy times pictured in magazine ads. But, within weeks, the reality of lost identity and limited funds left him panicked and depressed.
2021The Best Retirement Gifts Are Free
How to Retire in a Pandemic
In his second book on retirement, Dr. Bellah interviews friends, reviews books and movies, chases a two-year old, dines with a middle schooler, hangs out with brothers, celebrates a wedding anniversary, takes walks and bike rides, and gives readers what they’ve come to expect from him: honest and hopeful answers to the questions they are asking.
2020The Best Is Yet To Be Journal
Write Your Way to a Creative, Happy Retirement
According to Bellah, “The most important story you will read on retirement is not mine; neither is it one written by any other author. The most important story you will read is your story, the one you will write, the one that will shape you as you shape it, the one that will help make your dreams come true.”
2020I Believe In You, Santa
Reflections on Life and Writing
In this collection of Mike Bellah’s blogs and columns, you’ll read of “Hobbits and Creativity,” witness the “Confessions of an Old Tuba Player” and learn of “The Granddaughters Who Saved Christmas.” Plus, you’ll find out who put the “bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp,” why laughter is still the best medicine and what the green-eyed monster has to say about jealousy.
2020Bicycling through the Midlife Crisis
In Bicycling through the Midlife Crisis, Bellah blends the tale of a tumultuous midlife crisis with a grueling mountain bike ride through the West Texas canyon lands, both journeys as full of laughter and grace as they are of peril.
2020I Saw Jesus This Morning
The companion book to Bicycling through the Midlife Crisis presents the same story through a devotional lens. Part memoir, part dream vision, Dr. Bellah’s fast-paced novelette examines what it means to meet Jesus today through his body, the church.
1988Baby Boom Believers
Why we think we need it all and how to survive when we don’t get it
Published by Tyndale House in 1988, Bellah’s first book was a finalist for a Christian Booksellers’ Association Gold Medallion Award. It is now out of print.
Out of printDetails