Friday, 28 August 2026

Retire & Refire: The continuing adventures of the Retirement Rebel

Siobhan Daniels is back! She first came to our attention with her book Retirement Rebel, which saw her retiring, buying a motorhome, Dora the Explora, and touring the UK and Europe solo.

For Siobhan it was a way of conquering fear and anxiety after several years feeling undervalued at work. She is also keen to prove that retirement can offer a whole new second act to women.

In Retire and Refire, Siobhan, now 66, continues her quest to prove that older women do not have to relax and disappear into retirement.

She decides to drive the Alaska Highway, a journey totalling 3,972 miles.

In this very challenging trip Siobhan encounters extremely poor and hazardous roads and heavy snowfall and winds which threaten to tip her hired motorhome (RV) over. But she is determined to succeed.

She writes: "Society often underestimates older women, so I wanted this trip to be a statement of independence and vitality. My age is not a limit, it is what makes me, me. I want my passion for what I do to shine through and resonate with all women to motivate and inspire them."

Siobhan shares her detailed planning, which included taking a Garmin SOS device that would pinpoint her location at the many times when she was out of mobile range. She also took a range of Go Pros and other tools to video her trip.

And then she is off, on her own, to drive across desolate areas where animals including bears, moose and bison roam freely. Petrol stations are few and far between, and many RV sites are closed because winter has been very severe.

I enjoyed her daily accounts and the fact that she was open about being fearful at time. She admits to sometimes having a good cry and then pulling on her big girl pants when problems arise.

I admired her courage dealing with huge logging lorries that overtook her small RV, spraying gravel and creating dust clouds, and nearly tipping her over the edge of the road. Driving was at times highly stressful and physically demanding, particularly when heavy snowfall meant she couldn't see the road ahead. There were also a couple of times when she felt uneasy about her safety as a woman on her own.

I particularly enjoyed her encounters with people she met on her trip, other adventurers and locals. I loved the story of an encounter with two older Alaskan women who were fishing through the ice, and invited her to join them.

Another encounter, in a tiny community called Hope, was with a 79 year old woman who was a former police and fire chief. She has published her own book about breaking the glass ceiling. She and her friend invited Siobhan to share dinner with them, outdoors, with a fire pit.

Siobhan's excitement and euphoria at the beautiful scenery is infectious.

Her accomplishment is very empowering. She has definitely succeeded in her mission to urge women to join the movement of ageless adventure.

Her openness about disclosing moments of fear and anxiety made me feel better about my own modest recent endeavour, cycling 1000 miles (1609km) from Land's End to John O'Groats, at 65. Yes, it was an achievement, although at the end I felt bad about how much agonising I'd done at times. The key thing is, as Siobhan proves, you dust yourself off and complete the job.

Thanks to Vertebrate Publishing for the advance reader copy. Retire & Refire: The continuing adventures of the Retirement Rebel is published on 17 September. Pre-order now.