About the Author

Julia Keller is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, novelist, playwright, and teacher. She has a PhD in English literature from the Ohio State University, has taught at Princeton University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Notre Dame, and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. She was the chief book critic and a staff writer at the Chicago Tribune for many years, before quitting the world of daily journalism to write books. She was born and raised in West Virginia, the setting for her critically acclaimed mystery series featuring prosecutor Belfa Elkins.

QUITTING: A Life Strategy

The Myth of Perseverance—and How the New Science of Giving Up Can Set You Free

Dr Julia Keller

www.yellowkitebooks.co.uk

First published in Great Britain in 2023 by Yellow Kite

An imprint of Hodder & Stoughton

An Hachette UK company

Copyright © Julia Keller 2023

The right of Julia Keller to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Cover image: Getty Images

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

Trade Paperback ISBN 9781399714730

eBook ISBN 9781399714723

Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

Carmelite House

50 Victoria Embankment

London EC4Y 0DZ

www.yellowkitebooks.co.uk

To Annie Kate Goodwin

1986–2019

Praise for Quitting

“A compelling mix of science, social critique, and pragmatism, Quitting: A Life Strategy upends the dominant narratives about giving up. Sometimes stepping back really is the right way to move forward in life.”

– Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author of Digital

Minimalism and A World Without Email

“Julia Keller has flipped the script on one of the most aligned human acts: quitting. Before you decide to stick with it, gut it out, or see it through, consider the stories and evidence in Quitting: A Life Strategy and give yourself permission to walk away.”

– Bruce Feiler, New York Times bestselling author of Life is in the Transitions

“The world needs more quitters. In her fabulous new book, Julia Keller lays out the compelling case for quitting – explaining why we should quit sooner and more often, and also how to quit. Quitting: A Life Strategy is as entertaining as it is important.”

– Steven Levitt, New York Times bestselling author of Freakonomics

“Julia Keller’s Quitting: A Life Strategy offers a timely corrective in a world that’s forever telling us to do (and endure) more. This book is a celebration of people learning their limits, standing by their boundaries, and forging new paths when old, back breaking ways of being have failed them.”

– Dr. Devon Price, author of Laziness Does Not Exist

“Quitting: A Life Strategy is a thoughtful book that challenges conventional wisdom about giving up, blending scientific research with stories of real life decisions to show how quitting can actually be a powerful way to take control of your life.”

– Joseph T. Hallinan, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and bestselling author of Why We Make Mistakes

“In her beguiling mix of uncanny insight, scientific evidence and human stories, Julia Keller debunks America’s deeply ingrained faith in perseverance – in a book that’s just unquittable.”

– Elizabeth Taylor, coauthor of American Pharoah: Richard J. Daley

- His Battle for Chicago and the Nation

“Julia Keller weaves science, pop culture, and scholarship into a forceful and often funny book that finally settles the argument: winners DO quit. Keller’s book proves that whether you’re an impetuous Jerry Maguire type or react with the speed of a slime mold, quitting will be the launchpad into the liberating realm of ‘what’s next.’”

– Amy Dickinson, nationally syndicated advice columnist (“Ask Amy”) and New York Times bestselling author

You see, you cannot draw lines and compartments, and refuse to budge beyond them. Sometimes you have to use your failures as stepping-stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair . . . in the end, it’s all a question of balance.

—Rohinton Mistry, A Fine Balance

No matter how far you have gone down the wrong path, turn back.

—Proverb

Contents

About the Author

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

PART I

Quitting: It’s All in Your Head

CHAPTER ONE: What Birds, Bees, and Gymnasts Can Teach Us about Giving Up

CHAPTER TWO: The Neuroscience of “Nope—I’m Done”

CHAPTER THREE: Jennifer Aniston Quits Her Job: The Fine Art of Saying, “So Long”

PART II

How “Quitting” Became a Dirty Word—and Why It Matters

CHAPTER FOUR: Peddling Perseverance

CHAPTER FIVE: Luck and Letting Go: Things. Just. Happen.

CHAPTER SIX: Making a Better World—One “I Quit” at a Time

PART III

Giving Up: A How-to Guide

CHAPTER SEVEN: The Quasi-Quit: A Pause and a Pivot

CHAPTER EIGHT: Quitting Your Way to Success on the Job

CHAPTER NINE: Quitter’s Guilt: What If I Disappoint the People I Love?

CHAPTER TEN: Quitting Out in the Open

CHAPTER ELEVEN: A Community of Quitters

Afterword

Acknowledgments

Notes