Where can I find thoughtfully written success stories about quitting?

January 14, 2015 9:22 PM

I would like to read helpful, well-written, thoughtful, realistic personal stories about quitting a job, preferably ones about situations where another gig hadn't been lined up yet. Prefer stories about career positions, though I'm more than happy to read about walking out of service jobs. Please point me to web sites and forums, books, podcasts, and other media I am not thinking of at the moment.
posted by ziggly to Work & Money (7 answers total)

There is a funny book called Fired that has true-life stories of comedians getting fired. It's pretty amusing.
posted by Toddles at 9:44 PM on January 14, 2015

The upside of quitting
posted by crazycanuck at 9:46 PM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Tangential: a prevous AskMe on being laid off.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 9:53 PM on January 14, 2015

This American Life did an episode on quitting, that begins with this story.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 9:56 PM on January 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

Maybe not quite what you're after but perhaps you would enjoy "F**k You And Goodbye: The Dark & Hilarious History of the Resignation Letter". I'm reading it at the moment.
posted by RubyScarlet at 2:42 AM on January 15, 2015

Dan Benjamin of 5by5 does an excellent podcast called Grit (formerly Quit!) all about making a career change and doing something awesome. All very personal as he mostly does call-ins and voicemail from listeners.
posted by brism at 3:45 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

The site The Billfold, which is a really good money/career/economics/figuring-out-how-to-be-an-adult member of the Awl/Hairpin/Splitsider network,, has regular articles about this sort of thing. Ones I enjoyed recently included this one in their 'How I Do Money' series about changing career, and this one about a woman who spent three years working to become a cheesemaker.
posted by Happy Dave at 4:52 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]