My Husband's Honest Take on My Academic Exit and Building My Business

If you're an academic, have you ever wondered what your spouse really thinks about the countless moves, job insecurity, stress, and burnout that are likely shaping your life together? In this episode, my husband, Travis, sits down with me on our back porch in Maine to talk about what he saw—from the outside looking in—during my entire journey through academia and into business. We moved six times in seven years chasing tenure-track jobs and a prestigious fellowship. Travis left a 12-year research career in Florida to follow me to Washington, D.C. He watched me grade papers seven days a week, pump breast milk between lectures, and slowly lose myself to a system that demanded everything and gave back very little. And then he watched me leave. Build a six-figure business from our kitchen table. Take summers off with our kids. This is a conversation about what the people closest to us notice before we do—and what it looks like when you finally choose your life over your academic career. In this episode, you'll hear: 💕 What it was like for Travis to be the "trailing spouse" through 6 academic moves💕 How academia's career-first culture affected our marriage and family💕 The moment we finally said "let's just go" and moved to Maine💕 Travis's perspective on watching me build a business vs. watching me survive academia💕 His honest advice for the spouse of someone considering leaving Want to identify your transferable academic skills? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/map 0:00 Intro3:14 Meet Travis4:14 Dating during the dissertation6:38 The first academic move: St. Augustine8:22 Jacksonville and the trailing spouse question10:00 Leaving Florida for Washington, D.C.15:54 Travis's career pivot to vet medicine19:04 Back to Jacksonville—and hitting bottom23:37 The decision to try Maryland25:40 "Let's just go"—moving to Maine27:39 New baby, teaching overload, breaking point32:04 Starting over: job hunting and freelancing35:31 The book proposal course flop37:38 Launching BAE and diving into business39:15 Academia's overwhelm vs. business's overwhelm40:07 Choosing summers off with the kids43:03 Dinner table business talk and hiring a coach47:48 What this business gave our family49:15 Travis's advice for the trailing spouse Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.