The workbook "Exit Interview" is
available for sale on Lulu. Click here. (March 2024)
TESTIMONIALS
I worked on creating Exit
Interview on and off for years, and started using
it with my family and friends. My mother and my husband
both died in 2023. It was difficult to lose my loved ones,
but Exit Interview made many aspects of both of the deaths
easier on a few levels. I knew what they wanted and what
was important to them and they enjoyed discussing their
lives with me and my family.
Thanks for your interest in this
project, and what is on this page is what others had to
say about Exit Interview. - Marcie Vallette
"I could very easily see this being a 'go-to' for end of life
services, I was amazed at how thoughtful and thorough it was.
It provided a sense of closure that we were able to share, it
was very special. Exit Interview gave me so much
peace of mind I'd be glad to endorse it in any way
possible." - Nathan Moulton, Anchorage, AK
“When I received my copy of Exit Interview, I was impressed how the workbook is short concise and tastefully illustrated. I showed my copy to members of my Dharma Group and explained to them how you lead us step by step to help us identify our wishes. We explore current and evolving practices. The workbook provides lists and suggestions of useful information and finally, you guide us to identify our wishes the day we die and post mortem… All of them want a copy!
Having seen the struggle of caregivers dealing not only with pain and grief of loss but also being overwhelmed with making decisions about care, planning and handling the many details around the estate when the wishes of the loved one is not clear. I can see how useful the Exit Interview workbook will be so I want a few more copies to have on hand. Marcie this is such a tender and much needed gift. Thank You!!!!”
- David McCoy, Senior Case Manager, Human Services, New Haven, CT
"Personally I have dealt with death from a young age. My big brother Timmy was lost at sea when I was 14. My best friend from age 4 Jimmy Albert died in a car accident when we were 18. My Dad when I was 24. I took care of our class mate Peter Barbaro when cancer took him at 55. When I was wrestling in the late 70's early 80's there was a rash of deaths. I had 16 full-time coworkers in Dallas in 1984. Only 4 of us made it past 55. And as a Police Officer/first responder I dealt with more death then I can remember. Even with all that exposure to death I found your workbook to be an inspiration
My wife has been putting off making her arrangements known if something should happen. Your book Exit Interview relaxed her to the point to where she is doing it. Your workbook is VERY well thought out and all the bases are covered."
- William DeCoff, Writer and Actor, Danvers, MA
"As with many elderly people, my mother's long term memory was intact and vivid. When we sat down for her Exit Interview, we learned so many things about her personal activities, education, professional career and accomplishments. Surprisingly, much of this I learned for the first time. In addition to adding an interesting chronology to the obituary, it also made writing and presenting a eulogy that captured the full attention of the attendees, one whom noted that she was a woman ahead of her time - something I had never realized! What a wonderful thing to share with those that loved her."
- David Vallette, Quality Control, Cicero, NY
"For several years, the dialogue with my brother-in-law centered mostly on us designing, building and customizing our own houses, restoring and riding old motorcycles, his restored full size snooker table, and new technology used to make fuel efficient cars. When his health went into severe decline, he asked me to be part of his Exit Interview team - and I was honored to do so.
Wow, what an extensive exit interview he gave, and with it I learned he lived in various places around the world, had multiple degrees in various majors, and was nationally recognized in his profession. One of the things I learned in the exit interview is that one of his degrees was in anthropology. At the time, I was struggling on my master's degree thesis with the early migrations of fauna and people into America from Siberia and the rise of American Indian cultures. Although bedridden, my brother in-law had a computer, cable TV and-combined with his education-now had purpose to live. While I was driving to see him every weekend during his decline, he would put together material from his previous learning and that accumulated from online research. Unexpectedly, I believe that what emerged from the exit interview was quality time that brought us closer together and an extension of his life by at least a few weeks."
- David Vallette, Quality Control, Cicero, NY
"Marcie Vallette combines a survivor’s insights with her caregiver’s skills in Exit Interview, a workbook for all of us anticipating loss, our own or our next of kin’s, family’s or friend’s, sometime when we least expect it or even when we know it’s coming.
Exit Interview is a workbook full of questions, some answers, many suggestions, much information, and lots of lined blank space for the reader’s responses. The 34-page book is the result of ten years of caregiving for her husband, psychologist Allen Moulton, whose lengthy incapacity from Parkinson’s disease, diagnosed soon after their marriage, informed its creation.
Vallette combines the realities of passage with intuitive and learned wisdom, braving recognizable fears with compassion and grace. She frames moments of truth with valuable content and candor. In response, the reader becomes a co-writer alongside her, adding their own individual and unique perspective to end of life concerns."
-- Mickey Myers, Artist, Executive Director emeritus, Johnson, VT
Marcie Vallette