People on the verge of a big change, not wanting to let go. And the people who give them the final push.
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![](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/sites/default/files/styles/landscape/public/episodes/images/tal-806-bythebook-seancole.jpg?itok=mThRcLYT)
Sean Cole, 1992
Photo by Jamie Flowers
Note: The internet version of this episode contains un-beeped curse words. BEEPED VERSION.
Prologue
Guest Host Sean Cole gets some scary news about his health, and decides to quit smoking. (5 minutes)
The Straw That Broke Joe Camel's Back. / Can I Still Be a Joker and a Midnight Toker? / The Unbearable Lighterlessness of Being.
Sean Cole attempts to kick his 35 year-long smoking habit, using a book that’s said to have helped millions of people to quit. (33 minutes)
A Spoonful of Sugar
Someone writes into the advice column Dear Sugar to ask whether or not they should quit a relationship, and gets a strange but very persuasive response. (9 minutes)
An adaptation of some of Cheryl Strayed’s columns is now streaming on Hulu. It’s called Tiny Beautiful Things.
Tender Resignation
Even people who vehemently disagreed with Heider Garcia wanted him to stay in his job. But then something happened that made staying impossible. Zoe Chace reports. (9 minutes)