Leap Without a Net ― Leaving a Job With No Plan B, Finding Yourself and the Career You Really Want

Until recently, Tess Vigeland was a longtime host with Public Radio's Marketplace; it was a rewarding, high-status job, and Tess was very good at it—but she'd begun to feel restless. Without any definite, clear sense of what she wanted to do next (but an absolute certainty that what she'd been doing was no longer truly satisfying), she walked away from her dream job and into a vast unknown. Suddenly she was no longer “Marketplace’s Tess Vigeland,” she was just Tess Vigeland.

For the multitude of Americans who change jobs mid-career (by choice or circumstance), the growing legions of freelance workers, and the entrepreneurially-minded who see self-employment as an increasingly more appealing and viable option, Tess Vigeland has created a personal and well-researched account of leaping without a net. With her signature humor, she writes honestly about the fear, uncertainty, and risk involved in leaving the traditional workforce—but also the excitement, resources, and possibilities that are on the other side. Part memoir and part field guide, this book offers a funny, thoughtful, and provocative look at how to find happiness, satisfaction, and success when pursuing a career less ordinary.

TESS VIGELAND was a host/anchor with public radio's Marketplace from 2001 to 2012. Since leaving her position at Marketplace she has hosted NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered, America Abroad, Take Two (at KPCC-LA), and To the Point and Which Way, L.A.? (at KCRW-LA). She's also written for the New York Times, The Guardian,Forbes, and AOL, and has been a featured speaker and emcee at World Domination Summit and Chicago Ideas Week Edison Talks. She now spends her days pursuing what matters to her—speaking, writing, connecting with her fans, and practicing her new passion of photography.