The Departure Lounge
A growing library of books, podcasts, and articles to help you dream it, build it, and grow it—whether you're just starting to imagine your exit or already making moves. Curated for clarity, calm, and real-life action.
BUILD IT
Turn intention into action with practical tools and grounded strategies.
Foundations & First Steps
📘 Next!: The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work – Joanne Lipman
Offers real-life stories and tools for reinventing work, identity, and meaning on your own schedule.
📘 The Mountain Is You – Brianna Wiest
Focuses on emotional intelligence and resilience as keys to dissolving internal obstacles and stepping into transformation.
🎧 Woman Owned: The Growth Podcast for Women Entrepreneurs – Eleanor Beaton
Case-study stories and practical strategies from women founders building with purpose and clarity.
Systems & Income
📘 Make Money Work for You – Farnoosh Torabi
A holistic, values-aligned approach to building income, investing, and owning financial agency.
🎧 Quotable: A Female Entrepreneur Podcast – Alessandra Pollina
Real-world branding, marketing, and growth advice from female founders bridging hustle with heart.
📰 Three Practical Ways to Build Sustainable Work‑Life Balance – Forbes Coaches Council
Offers research-backed tools like energy-check-in rituals, time blocking, and intentional micro-breaks.
DREAM IT
Reimagine what life could look like—more ease, less noise.
Money Mindset
📘 I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Ramit Sethi
A smart, values-first approach to personal finance. Automate saving, spend guilt-free on what matters, and design a rich life on your own terms.
📘 Broke Millennial – Erin Lowry
A no-jargon, empathetic guide to leveling up your money mindset through budgeting, debt hacks, and confidence-building advice.
🎧 Financial Feminist – Tori Dunlap
Tori breaks down financial systems with humor and heart—equipping listeners (especially women and marginalized voices) to take charge of their money and make empowered choices.
📰 Following My Mom’s Footsteps Career‑Wise Led Me to Burnout – Kelly Mackin
A powerful personal essay by Kelly Mackin about leaving a traditional high‑pressure career path and choosing well‑being over expectation
Mindset Shifts
📘 Atomic Habits – James Clear
Tiny changes, big results. This practical guide to behavior change helps you shift identity and routine—one small habit at a time.
📘 The Good Enough Job – Simone Stolzoff
A thoughtful reframe of ambition, identity, and the role of work—helping readers unhook their self-worth from their job title.
🎧 The Mel Robbins Podcast – Mel Robbins
Packed with relatable, science-based insights—from decision-making hacks to confidence boosters—to help listeners reclaim agency and direction.
📰 “What Comes After Ambition?” – Ann Friedman
A thoughtful reframing of ambition: moving from external hustle to defining success by inner fulfillment and self-defined priorities.
GROW IT
Stay aligned as you expand—gently and intentionally.
Sustainable Pace
📘 Slow Productivity – Cal Newport
A countercultural approach to work that prioritizes depth, intention, and sustainability over busyness and urgency.
📘 Essentialism – Greg McKeown
A guide to doing less, but better—focusing only on what truly matters to reclaim time and energy.
🎧 The Deep Questions – Cal Newport
Practical insights on deep work, tech boundaries, and cultivating meaningful routines in a distracted world.
📰 Culture Study – Anne Helen Petersen
A persuasive case for rethinking hustle culture and embracing a slower, more humane way of working.
Boundaries & Balance
📘 Set Boundaries, Find Peace – Nedra Glover Tawwab
A compassionate, practical toolkit for recognizing your limits, communicating clearly, and reclaiming your well-being.
📘 Big Magic – Elizabeth Gilbert
Encouragement for living a creative life without fear, with reflections on curiosity, permission, and self-trust.
🎧 Feel Better, Live More – Dr Rangan Chatterjee
Science-backed strategies for balancing physical, emotional, and mental health in everyday life.
📰 The Invisible Cost of Always Being On – NYT
An exploration of the toll constant connectivity takes—and why rest and disconnection are essential for health.