There are also things that I haven’t quit. I’ve kept at Weirdo Poetry, which started with the publication of my Pirate Haiku book in 2016 that almost nobody read. There were years when I had less than twenty people who cared anything about what I was creating. The joy of quitting lies in the freedom to experiment, evolve, and adapt. It’s about recognizing that life is a series of experiences, each teaching us valuable lessons. Quitting doesn’t mean giving up; it means prioritizing your well-being and happiness. It means giving the chance for other things to open up. Amie came to visit Chicago and stayed at our house for the first night we were away. I got to see her just long enough to take a walk.

And last of all: Quit insisting that your way is best. Breakthroughs can happen only through radical honesty, so don’t be too proud to admit you took a wrong turn. We all do. How do you know when to quit? I think your gut knows. How do you feel when you think about quitting? Does it bring feelings of relief or regret?

The Joy of Quitting

The answer was firm but quiet. I pressed my lips together and pushed my face further into the pillow. Is it God or Me? I’m a big proponent of quitting; I do it regularly. I began my quitting career in law, which I sort of found myself in by mistake to begin with. After studying English literature – which is an excellent grounding for a life of perennial disillusionment – I got a job at a corporate law firm because that seemed to be what a lot of people did. They funded a law conversion course and this was followed by a well-paid two-year training contract. It seemed like a no-brainer. Her daughter Xia always figures in here as the comic (funny, I mean) hero as in all the books, that Art Linklater, Kids Say the Darndest Things (I know this ages me as it was a popular book in the sixties or seventies) angle, but in this book many more people from her family and friends seem to figure in the joking around. And dogs, always dogs. Bigger book, more family members and friends, the classes she teaches. An expanded horizon. And it is funny, for sure. The title is not so easily--or at all-explained; as I imagined, it was about that contemporary concept of "quiet quitting." And so I liked this title, hoping it would connect to that idea, or to slow growth, or just getting off the rat race maze, but here it is, Keiler more productive than ever, not really ever quitting, and I can't complain.

Now more people are reading and supporting my poetry and comics than have ever read anything else I’ve ever done. In the grand tapestry of life, quitting is just another thread. It may be brief, but it can add depth and colour to the overall picture. The willingness to quit can open doors to new opportunities and uncharted territories. It allows you to embrace change and embrace the unknown. The author Alan Cohen said, “Integrity is the condition in which the life you are living in the outer world matches who you are in the inner world.”The most ambitious (and just plain largest) collection of Keillor Roberts' memoir or autobio comics, a Drawn & Quarterly production. This book collects from a decade of work, from five previous titles--Powdered Milk (2012), Miseryland (2015), Sunburning (2017), Chlorine Gardens (2018) and Rat Time (2019)--like a summary of her life so far. I categorize this as "disability" because Keillor has both MS and is bipolar, and these experiences have been part of earlier collections, but in this one we learn even more about the weirdness of her brain (or maybe, with the weirdness of my brain, I just forgot what I had read and all of this I had read before). Always funny, especially as we get deeper into the way her mind works. But it is not mostly about her disabilities; those are just part of her life. The main focus of the book is her family, and motherhood, as always. Flourish: A leader in the Positive Psychology movement, Dr. Martin Seligman goes beyond happiness to examine what makes a fulfilling life. Ultimately, Roberts’ work questions the nature of meaning, and what we hold or should hold dear as we go about the business of living. It reminds one of Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, where Linda, wife of protagonist Willy Loman, defends him by pointing out that he wasn’t a great man, a rich man, someone in the paper, or the finest character that ever lived. “But he’s a human being,” she says, “so attention must be paid.” Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, claiming 1.4 million souls each year. Approximately 80% of them are caused by smoking. Similarly, 80% of COPD deaths are smoking-related. He loved to tell us that the only people who ever accomplished anything were the ones who persevered. And he was right, sort of. But, I’ve been working hard to correct my generational trauma.

The Joy of Quitting covers a period of eight years in Roberts’ life and involves people she lives with or interacts with daily. Her daughter plays a prominent role, along with her partner, parents, assorted family members, friends, and pets. These interactions lend themselves to humour, not only when her daughter Xia says something precocious (like asking for Tylenol because she’s sad or whispering to avoid fat-shaming squirrels) but when her partner asks the kind of questions that rile every woman up (“If I ask you something, do you promise not to get mad?”).Mastery: Robert Greene draws on the lives of Martha Graham, Charles Darwin, and others to show how pursuing mastery of the thing we love to do can lead to great things. I am a serial quitter myself. I have been enrolled to 2 different bachelors, 3 different master’s degree (and yet to finish any, and no current intention of doing so), I’ve had 3 different jobs in as many years, I’ve quit relationships, I’ve broken connections with friends, and some family. I have started and quit countless hobbies, drumming, keyboard, 3D animating, audio manipulation, bouldering, running, journalling — just to name some things within the last year and a half.

Quitting before even starting and quitting as soon as something gets difficult are always unwise. However, trying something, giving it a shot, realizing it’s not your cup of tea, and then quitting — that’s different. The idea of a moral fable drawn from everyday life is extended with another new book, Creepy, a collaboration with her friend Lee Sensenbrenner that has been published alongside The Joy of Quitting. Described as a ‘picture book for grown-ups’, this second book focuses on the overwhelming presence of digital devices in the lives of today’s children. It is a charming tale that allows Roberts to flex her artistic muscle, but the story itself doesn’t dive much deeper into why these online lives have begun to supersede the real world for so many young people. If there is a secret to life, I think it might be to keep quitting things until you find something you don’t want to quit. Self-help gurus adore quotes like this, aiming to infuse divine inspiration and discourage quitting. But why shouldn’t we quit things? Why should we set a goal and never deviate from it? The joy of quitting can be exhilarating.

Upgrade your Joy!

If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride — and never quit, you’ll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards. There is a friend or member of family that you just don’t see eye to eye with. You’ve tried various ways to communicate, and you keep reaching a stalemate, but they seem to be intent on arguing their way through it. You have a choice – you can keep the toxic communication going or you can quietly quit. Walk away from unwanted drama.