How to Leave: Quitting the City and Coping with a New Reality

Eventually, in the lives of many, the time comes to uproot. Whether it's to start a family, find a new job or change pace a little, trading the city for the suburbs--or a smaller city--requires an adjustment period that can be filled with anxiety, regret, anger, confusion and homesickness. Fortunately for readers of Erin Clune's manifesto on relocation, they don't have to go through this alone.
 
How to Leave: Quitting the City and Coping with a New Reality documents the transition Clune (Sh*tty Mom for All Seasons co-author) and her family went through after moving from New York City to Madison, Wis. When the boxes are unpacked, and the house has been set in order, a newbie's work has really just begun. Assuming a get-together in the park is a potluck when it isn't; ordering the wrong dish in a restaurant; overdressing for an evening out--if Clune hasn't experienced one jolt of culture shock or another, she knows someone who has. With anecdotes provided by contacts all over the U.S., she guides readers through the process of settling in--leavening her warm empathy with generous helpings of snark.
 
At times her jokey prose gives way to solid punch lines, but Clune's real strength is her nuanced understanding of the mixed emotions that go along with fumbled attempts to reestablish oneself in a new place. She has solid advice for making new friends and gives space to grieve friendships lost in the process. Best read in short spurts, How to Leave can be a fun companion in a challenging phase of life. --Dave Wheeler, associate editor, Shelf Awareness
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