James Autry is retired. He writes books, does speaking engagements, serves as a business consultant and takes care of his son, but he is retired, nonetheless.

“Retirement is an economic term, not a social term or a spiritual term or lifestyle term,” he said, “It’s just economics — leaving your job for something else.”

The son and grandson of Baptist ministers, Autry grew up in Benton County, Miss. He asserts that his father and brother were both writers and his mother, a painter, had a deft grasp of language, as well. Her paintings, bold and almost primitive folk scenes, hang on the sunny yellow walls of the Des Moines home he shares with his son, Ronald, and his wife, Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson.

“Every day, a beautiful, well-armed man comes to the house and caries off my wife,” he said, joking about Pederson’s Iowa State Patrol escort.

Autry graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1955, and not long after served as an Air Force jet fighter pilot in France. At the completion of his tour of duty in the military, he began work as a journalist. During his career, Autry ascended from newspaper reporter to editor in chief of Better Homes and Gardens to president of the magazine group at Meredith Corp. In 1991, he chose early retirement and decided he would devote himself to writing. He says he uses all of his roles — reporter, manager, fighter pilot and father of a child with a disability — in his writing.

Autry began writing poetry while editor of Better Homes and Gardens in the 1970s. He calls it therapy. It was not until he became president of the magazine group, however, that he fully turned his focus to writing. After spending so many years as an editor, working with the words of others, he found freedom in listening to his own muse.

His first business book, “Love and Profit: The Art of Caring Leadership,” began as a volume of poetry about the business world, but publishers turned it down. Finally, one suggested it would be more marketable if it also included essays. The resulting text catapulted Autry to his current status as business consultant and best-selling author. Though most people see vast differences between the world of business and the world of poetry, Autry sees remarkable similarities.

“The best managers, like the best poets, are intuitive,” he said. “They understand the messages under words, evoking as much what is not there as what’s there.

“The best kind of leadership comes from the inside. There have been great businessmen poets, but their poetry usually wasn’t about business. Some people say I’ve created a vocabulary of how it feels to fire someone, or given people in the business world permission to feel.”

In Autry’s latest book, “The Spirit of Retirement: Creating a Life of Meaning and Personal Growth,” he explores the emotional side of the work world once again.

“Sometimes people retire and they die. They die from the emptiness,” he said. “One of the saddest sights I’ve ever seen is a retiree visiting the workplace. They say they’re there to see former co-workers, but they linger.

“What you realize is that’s where they were finding their meaning – in work. They return to the place of the meaning.”

Autry said workers planning for retirement look at their financial needs but often ignore the emotional needs that arise upon leaving the workplace. Work friends can turn out to be mere friendly aquaintances, and identity based upon one’s job title disappears.

“When you look at publications on retirement, you see handsome couples with beautiful gray hair blowing in the wind, and all they talk about is money and recreation,” he said. “Money and recreation are important, but they don’t give meaning.”

Last December Autry interviewed 50 successful retirees, asking them to share their experiences and give advice to others. He could see the stories coming together, and used a Better Homes and Gardens formula — ideas, inspiration and information – to give them a cohesive structure. The resulting book advised workers to plan for the financial necessities of retirement, but to plan for the emotional necessities as well. Autry says that the keys are building relationships outside work, be it with family, friends or the community, and finding a passion for life.

“You have to plan for something that will sustain you,” he said.