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Exit: The Endings That Set Us Free
From a renowned sociologist,the wisdom of saying goodbye
Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot is enthralled by exits: long farewells, quick goodbyes, sudden endings, the ordinary and the extraordinary. There’s a relationship, she attests, between small goodbyes and our ability “to master and mark the larger farewells.”
In Exit, her tenth book, she explores the ways we leave one thing and...more
Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot is enthralled by exits: long farewells, quick goodbyes, sudden endings, the ordinary and the extraordinary. There’s a relationship, she attests, between small goodbyes and our ability “to master and mark the larger farewells.”
In Exit, her tenth book, she explores the ways we leave one thing and...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
May 22nd 2012
by Sarah Crichton Books
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I expected to like this book a lot, and I'm disappointed. Part of my problem with it is the subjects themselves, who are all comfortable professional people. True, two are immigrants and two have families of origin in the lower-classes. But three -- three! out of the 11 subjects are very comfortably well-off individuals whose struggle to "exit" means deciding to leave the world of philanthropy. All of the interviewees are fortunately situated in their lives so that they have the luxury of choosi...more
Professor Lawrence-Lightfoot uses personal interviews and stories to illustrate how the process of exiting works in different situations, the ceremonial gestures we use to acknowledge leave-taking and to recognize for ourselves that a momentous event is occurring. The stages of "exit" are not discrete-- there is often an iterative process in how we decide to leave and when we leave, the emotions that are attached with this process and the actions we take to recognize that we are about to end som...more
Loosely related stories about people working themselves out of difficult life circumstances. I didn't get a chance that these individuals made particular life choices about ending or leaving something behind. And I didn't really fully understand the premise that an exit was somehow different from a turning point or a new beginning.
This book is very inspiring and comforting. Through portraits of unique and powerful individuals, Lawrence-Lightfoot casts exits as positive paths in life. When you exit a place or an option in your life, you also open multiple doors.
Most of the narratives were interesting, some much more so than others. The analysis was deficient and I was left with what felt like a collection of people's stories when I wanted something more that brought them together.
Jul 08, 2012
Cynthia
is currently reading it
First woman in Harvard History to have an endowment named after her. About different kinds of loss/endings and what can happen afterwards. Interesting stories.
This is no quick read, but there are some gems here for people of all ages as we transition to different seasons of life or change relationships.
I am a big fan of Lawrence-Lightfoot, but was, frankly, disappointed with this book that I found perceptive at times, but very repetitive.
A beautiful book for those grieving, or needing to make an exit of their own. Not as much sociology as just story.
The intro was wonderful and made me want to invite the author to dinner. Sadly, the intro was the best part. This book, noting how exits in our lives are ritualized across a variety of contexts, would have been much better as a long essay. Darn! Double darn!
Sep 09, 2012
Diana Gardner Robinson
marked it as to-read
Added it after reading one newspaper review, but after reading the Amazon reviews I may not buy/read it.
Stories = good. Commentary = so so. Worth reading if you're in transition of any sort.
Enh... Beyond the introduction, not much to take away.
Some of the stories do not really tie in with the "Exit" theme. Not what I expected.
This book is outstanding. The author is a highly acclaimed sociologist and a professor (Harvard) who intelligently discusses the transitions we all experience in life, whether related to work, home, relationships, and even the ultimate transition we all will take when we die. I'm now eager to read her other book about the 50-75 year age period in which many of us will embark on something altogether different. Read Exit, and take notes!
I usually love her work, but this book seemed thin to me.
In light of my new job, I moved this book to the top of my list. But it wasn't at all what I expected. Rather than case studies I was hoping for more research based text.
May 19, 2013
Don Boelter
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May 18, 2013
Tanya
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May 09, 2013
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Mar 17, 2013
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Tiffanie Arnold
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Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot is a professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
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