Why Exit 9?

Sometimes the most radical move is to take the next exit.

I created Exit 9 because I’ve taken it myself.

You may know the old joke: “I live in New Jersey.” “What exit?”

I did live in New Jersey—Exit 9. My husband and I raised our children and spent many happy years there. But did I feel I really belonged there? Not really. The cultural fit for me was as forced as the demanding body shaper I wore underneath my mother-of-the-groom dress. It did the job, but I didn’t feel completely free.

I had a good life by most standards, but it often felt like I was speeding along, following someone else’s map. So I found a way to slow down and craft a life of my own making..

In my decades as a qualitative researcher—interviewing thousands of everyday people about what really matters—I heard the same quiet ache in so many voices: Is this really all there is?

I sensed that others could benefit from exploring the same off-ramp I chose, so I created Exit 9.

Why this Substack?

The map was wrong!
The way is here.

Exit 9 is a nine-step journey I developed to help others find their way “home.” Each step, or “mile marker” leads away from the pressure, pace, and noise of modern life and toward something more grounded and real.

You’ll learn to:

· Reclaim your time and attention from the constant demands of the digital world

· Rethink work and worth beyond productivity

· Revive creativity as a spiritual and practical force

· Rebuild community and find belonging beyond the algorithm

· Reconnect with nature and the rhythms of the living world

· Restore the timeless virtue of simplicity in your own life

· Replace consumption and feel the joy in enough

· Remember the sacred, however you define it

· Reject fence-sitting for changemaking!

· And most of all, return to yourself—your values, your voice, your vision of the good life

Exit 9 isn’t about dropping out. It’s about opting in—consciously, courageously, and joyfully—to a life that actually feels like yours.

Whether you’re feeling burnt out, off-course, or quietly craving something deeper, this space is for you.

I welcome participation in the comments section or chat. Please consider supporting this work with a free subscription.

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