The Upside of Being Down

How Mental Health Struggles Led to My Greatest Successes in Work and Life

By: Jen Gotch

Narrated by: Jen Gotch

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

An entertaining, humorous, and inspirational memoir by the founder and chief creative officer of the multimillion-dollar lifestyle brand ban.do, who “has become a hero among women (and likely some men too) who struggle with mental health” (Forbes).

After graduating from college, Jen Gotch was living with her parents, heartbroken and lost, when she became convinced that her skin had turned green. Hallucinating that she looked like Shrek was terrifying, but it led to her first diagnosis and the start of a journey towards self-awareness, acceptance, success, and ultimately, joy.

With humor and candor, Gotch shares the empowering story of her unlikely path to becoming the creator and CCO of a multimillion-dollar brand. From her childhood in Florida where her early struggles with bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety, and ADD were misdiagnosed, to her winding career path as a waitress, photographer, food stylist, and finally, accidental entrepreneur, she illuminates how embracing her flaws and understanding the influence of mental illness on her creativity actually led to her greatest successes in business and life.

Hilarious, hyper-relatable, and filled with fascinating insights and hard-won wisdom on everything from why it’s okay to cry at work to the myth of busyness and perfection to the emotional rating system she uses every day, Gotch’s inspirational memoir dares readers to live each day with hope, optimism, kindness, and humor.

Excellent book!

I loved this book, I’ve followed Jen Gotch for years and I have followed her struggles and successes. She is an inspiration for entrepreneurs and those with mental health issues, shedding light on an often difficult topic. Jen shows how managing everything is possible. I have always appreciated her candidness and this book brings out a much more in-depth look at her life’s story.

Great Book

I suffer from bipolar disorder myself, and I love to read. This was a great book with a balance of humor, realistic stories, and advice. I loved every minute of listening to it, and it held my attention which not every book can do. Would definitely recommend.

Upside Right

The courage to keep going forward. And the joyous moments that made the story so engaging.

Good story and mental health info

I love the Jen gotch is OK sometimes podcast so I knew I had to listen to this. I wasn’t surprised that this was good and had Jens humor and vulnerability in it. I love the emotional rating scale. I’ve been doing some thing like that for the past seven years as well, since I was diagnosed with bipolar two as well.

Better than great, and less than perfect. 💗

What a wonderfully written and narrated book. Jen has you simultaneously educated and entertained. She’s someone who has full dug open her struggles, traumas, and mental health issues to the root to solve them the healthiest and best way possible.

Real. Raw. Valuable. & Life Changing.

Great job, Jen. Thanks for affecting so many people positively with your endless optimism.