BONUS AFTER-HOURS EVENT: Attendees who purchase a copy of Quitting from FAN’s partner bookseller The Book Stall are invited to attend an AFTER-HOURS event hosted by Keller and Stevens that will start immediately after the webinar. Details on the webinar registration page.

We’re trained from birth to value grit and perseverance above all else. Quitting: A Life Strategy turns that lesson on its head, offering instead a refreshingly humane and nuanced perspective on the role quitting plays in our careers and wellbeing. In the pages of this book, Pulitzer-prize winning writer Julia Keller, Ph.D. reminds us that, to live rich, meaningful, joy-filled lives, sometimes we have to say “no”—full stop.

Combining reportage from the front lines of scientific research, incisive pop culture commentary, and conversations with people who have made profound changes in their lives, Keller gives readers the rationale and confidence they need to shape their future without fear—at work, at home, and in the world at large. With Keller’s guidance, readers will visit labs doing cutting-edge research into what she dubs “the neuroscience of ‘Nope – I’m done,’” and be reminded of their favorite quitting scenes in movies, books, and music. They’ll learn about the tangled social history of our celebration of grit. They’ll discover how quitting can make space for key breakthroughs – and help us break free of the stubborn, often destructive myth of perseverance.

Keller has a Ph.D. in English Literature from The Ohio State University and 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 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, eight-volume mystery series.

Keller will be in conversation with Heidi Stevens, Director of External Affairs for the University of Chicago’s TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health. Prior to joining TMW, Stevens worked at the Chicago Tribune for 23 years, where she wrote a daily column called “Balancing Act.” She maintains a weekly nationally syndicated column. She also serves as a FAN board member.

This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded and available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.

This event is presented by Family Action Network (FAN). Gorton Center is proud to partner with FAN as a sponsor of this event to bring this programming to our patrons.