The Upside of Being Down : How Mental Health Struggles Led to My Greatest Successes in Work and Life

**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. 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. "An entertaining, humorous, and inspirational memoir-think #GirlBoss meets Furiously Happy-about harnessing your creativity and embracing your flaws to reach your goals. With humor and heart, ban.do founder Jen Gotch shares the empowering story of her unlikely journey to becoming the creator and CCO of a multimillion-dollar brand. From her childhood in Florida where her early struggles with bipolar disorder were misdiagnosed, to her winding career path as a waitress, photographer, food stylist, and finally, entrepreneur with no business experience, 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, charming, and filled with fascinating insights from her hard-won experience as a true creative and a visionary businesswoman, Gotch's inspirational memoir dares readers to live each day with hope, optimism, kindness, and humor"-- Provided by publisher