For a while, I worked as a health care benefits verifier—flexible hours, decent pay, and most importantly, the job helped support my Daily Celebrations habit.

Then, without warning: boom. Laid off. No signs, no heads-up—just gone. A blow to the wallet, and yeah, a blow to the ego too.

Just when I could’ve spiraled into frustration, I discovered actress Annabelle Gurwitch’s book, Fired: Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized & Dismissed (2006)—a smart, funny, and surprisingly healing collection of stories.

“So you were fired. Welcome to the club. We’ve been waiting for you,” she wrote in the intro. Gurwitch was let go by none other than her hero, director Woody Allen. “I’m not a therapist,” she added. “I’m an actress who’s been in therapy.”

There’s a freedom in reframing rejection as redirection. Gurwitch notes that by the time you’re 32, you’ll likely have had nine jobs. Getting fired isn’t failure—it’s part of the story. The trick is to make peace with the shakeup and see the invitation it holds.

Plenty of legends were let go before greatness: Bernie Marcus was fired before starting Home Depot. Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple—just in time to build Pixar and change animation history with Toy Story. And J.K. Rowling? Dismissed as a secretary just before she wrote Harry Potter.

“We all have to do something to address this stigma (of being fired),” Gurwitch declared. “I think we should have parties and celebrate!”

Or, just chill...