Involuntary Exit: A Woman's Guide to Thriving After Being Fired

by Robin Merle

Overview

It can take less than a minute to get fired. Less than a minute to hear the words that change your life as you’ve known it. You’re stunned, shocked, humiliated—because your career has defined your life and you’ve been blindsided. You’re a company Loyalist with a capital L, and you’ve been sucker punched professionally. How do you even talk about this?

Countless books focus on leadership and resilience, but none of them take you through what actually happens to women leaders who are suddenly let go, or who endure untenable circumstances and ultimately fire themselves. None of them take you, step by step, through the emotional process of acceptance and beginning again. And that’s where Involuntary Exit comes in.

With advice for every unexpected twist, turn, and emotional trigger, this book is based on author Robin Merle’s experience at the top of billion-dollar organizations, as well as her interviews with accomplished women who were suddenly severed from their organizations and navigated their way back to success. The real-life examples she offers in these pages prove that you’re not alone—and that you, too, will get through this. Whether you’ve been fired or need to move on, Involuntary Exit will help you rediscover your value and emerge as a stronger leader on your own terms.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647423094
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	10/19/2021
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Robin Merle is the author of Involuntary Exit: A Woman’s Guide to Thriving After Being Fired. She has published short fiction in The Chouteau Review, South Carolina Review, Kalliope, and Real Fiction. She holds a master’s degree from The Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, where she earned a fellowship. In her other professional life, as a nonprofit executive, she has raised over a half-billion dollars in philanthropic support to improve individuals’ quality of life and access to opportunities. A longtime New Yorker, Robin now lives in Scarborough, Maine with her family.

Editorial Reviews

2022 Nonfiction Book Awards Gold Winner

“The book is well written and fast-moving, treating a complex and emotionally charged subject with sensitivity. . . . Merle does a solid job of steering readers through a complex and challenging process.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“A helpful business book that covers the opposite end of leadership and growth, Robin Merle’s Involuntary Exit is a must-read for career-driven people of all genders.”
—Foreword Reviews, 5-stars

“Robin Merle’s Involuntary Exit is part survival guide and part group hug.”
—Danielle Dardashti, CEO of dash.

“Involuntary Exit should be compulsory reading for women at the top of their professions—and all who are navigating upward.”
—Deb Taft, CEO of Lindauer Global

“This book will empower you to reclaim your personal value and give you the courage to create a positive future.”
—Lisa Marie Vasquez, Chief Experience Officer, INSiGHT CLA

“This is more than a book about working through an abrupt  career change; it is a book that reminds you of your inherent value, your strengths, and your resources no matter where you’re at in life.  As Robin beautifully reminds us, you are not alone.”
—Sara B. Weeks, Life Coach

“The wisdom contained in these pages will  assist you on the most important journey of all: happiness.”
—Bob Cooper, author of Heart and Soul in the Boardroom

“Being savvy about being fired is an essential skillset you never knew  you needed. Involuntary Exit is anecessary read for women in the development profession!”
—Yolanda F. Johnson, founder of Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy and president of Women In Development, New York

“I’m thrilled to be in this timeless book. May we all learn and listen to our instincts.”
—Laura Fredricks, JD, author of The Ask: For Business, For Philanthropy, For Everyday Living

From the Publisher

2021-09-14
A debut business book offers recommendations for people—women in particular—who have been fired.

In this guide, Merle focuses her attention on women but notes that the advice about grappling with and moving on from being fired is applicable to people of all genders. Using the stories of several women fired from jobs as executives at for-profit and nonprofit organizations as the core of the narrative, the author explains to readers how to react immediately and in the long term to a dismissal, how to process the related emotions, and how to position themselves for success in a new role when they are ready to move forward in their careers. The book combines hard-nosed practical advice (“Do not tie your value to the severance package. It’s a negotiation, not a value statement”) with a nuanced look at the psychology of organizational loyalty and the grief that results from the end of a professional relationship. Merle also discusses what she calls “being faux-fired,” or pushed into a position in which resignation is the only option, and the challenges of sharing the news of being dismissed with relatives, friends, and colleagues. The concluding chapters address the logistical, professional, and personal aspects of applying for new jobs after being fired. The book is well written and fast-moving, treating a complex and emotionally charged subject with sensitivity. The anecdotes that make up the core of the volume are well chosen and compelling without becoming melodramatic. The manual is clearly written for an audience of high-achieving professionals (“You’re the woman who worked fourteen-hour days, then went to the gym and answered emails while running on the treadmill”), but much of the counsel, particularly about coping with emotions in preparation for shifting to a new role, is applicable to less-privileged readers as well. Merle does a solid job of steering readers through a complex and challenging process, and the book is easy to digest, with a substantial amount of information presented in a relatively concise text.

A useful and insightful guide to dealing with being fired from a job.

Kirkus Reviews