Graceful Exits: Making the Case for Getting Good at Goodbye

1. Graceful Exits: Making the Case for Getting Good at Goodbye 1888PressRelease - Author Geri Reid Suster is determined to make people’s next exit better than their last. Author Geri Reid Suster takes unconventional look at exits across a broad range of settings in the upcoming book Graceful Exits: Making the Case for Getting Good at Goodbye. She teaches readers how to build skills around exiting. Graceful Exits looks at positive and negative exits in four major areas: personal relationships, workplace exits, significant changes in the way individuals live and how to face death - the final exit, for loved ones as well as for ourselves. She goes on to explore actionable steps to better navigate some of life’s most difficult moments and reduce the likelihood of a bad exit ever happening. “Your next exit is just around the corner, are you ready? After a few bad exits in my own life, I realized this is not a skill that is taught but rather an experience we deny will happen to us and when it inevitably does, we execute poorly and spend years picking up the pieces,” explained Reid Suster. What motivated Reid Suster to write this book is seeing how bad exits can negatively affect a person’s life regarding self-worth and future decisions for years. By developing skills in this area, people can avoid a huge amount of shame and regret. Reid Suster is a corporate exec-turned-nomad with 30 years of experience in business and management, specializing in acquisitions and creating operational excellence. After a period of intense personal upheaval and then jumping to a new technology startup that didn’t pan out, Geri entered a period of reflection that led to an epiphany about “exits” that would change her life. In 2017, she traded her ocean view home in Southern California for an RV she named Wallace and in less than three years, she traveled to 38 states in the United States and five provinces in Canada with her dogs. In 2020, Geri sold Wallace, bought a Sprinter van named Wüfgang (#whereswüf) and built her own custom home on wheels. Still hooked on wandering, she spends most of her stationary time in Bend, Oregon. More information about Reid Suster can be found on GracefulLife.com. The primary purpose of Graceful Exits is to offer advice on how to handle various exits in life, from death and loss to firings and breakups with empathy and humor.

2. Reid Suster reflects on her own path, “‘Actually, Geri, it’s you. We have to let you go.’ Hearing these words from my dear friend of more than 25 years over the phone on a sunny Friday afternoon left me shaking. It was a first for me – being at this end of a layoff. And it was a gut punch.” Being on the receiving end of a layoff, Reid Suster pondered her next steps and had an epiphany – life is full of exits. From school, from jobs, from relationships and ultimately from life itself. Those transitions can be rocky or they can be handled with grace, honor and humor. Still, most people struggle with such endings, getting mired down in thoughts of failure, grief, frustration, regret and anger. In the book, Reid Suster shows readers how they can do better, be better and live better through all of life’s goodbyes. Reid Suster added, “Exits are going to happen whether we like it or not, so why not get good at them? How much time did you spend learning to walk, ride a bike, drive a car, and/or interview for a job? Why not spend a little time learning to approach exits with greater skill? An ugly exit not only leaves scars on everyone involved but also adds to the psychological burden one carries long after the exit. On the other hand, a graceful exit is hard in the moment but sets us up to feel lighter and healthier on the other side.” Direct and full of advice and suggestions for developing healthy departure skills, Reid Suster guides readers through the ups and downs of goodbyes and carefully reveals the best methods for a smoother, more graceful transition. Releasing on November 11, 2022, Graceful Exits: Making the Case for Getting Good at Goodbye is published by Rowman & Littlefield and can be preordered on Amazon. ABOUT GERI REID SUSTER: Geri Reid Suster has 30 years of experience in business and management, specializing in acquisitions and creating operational excellence. While still consulting for businesses, she now enjoys the nomadic life in her travel van, which now includes spending time in her new hometown, Bend, Ore. Her personal and professional background ideally suits her to share her experiences and wisdom in Graceful Exits and she is available for speaking engagements and interviews in person and virtually. https://gracefullife.com/