"At the midpoint of my life, I found myself lost in a dark wood."

What does one do when one finds oneself at odds with one's employer?  Not a simple personality conflict, but on a philosophical level?  There was a reason I chose bookselling over clothing or fast food sales.  There was a reason I stayed with this company for the better part of a decade, and it had little to do with the pay:

"...Because the product we sell is books, our aspirations must be consistent with the promise and the ideals of the volumes which line our shelves.  To say that our mission exists independent of the product we sell is to demean the importance and the distinction of being booksellers. ... Above all, we expect to be a credit to the communities we serve, a valuable resource to our customers, and a place where our dedicated booksellers can grow and prosper. Toward this end we will not only listen to our customers and booksellers but embrace the idea that the Company is at their service."

Somewhere in the past three years statement and practice have begun to part ways.  It is distressing -- to put it mildly -- to go to work anymore.