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Falling Upwards: Living the Dream, One Panic Attack at a Time
“With inspiring openness and vulnerability, Jeremy shares his hard-earned wisdom of how to combat the established rules of masculinity, channel our anxiety into bold, new ideas, and grow as flawed, yet hopeful human beings. Falling Upwards is for any creative ready to heal.”
—Yung Pueblo, poet and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lighter
Acclaimed entrepreneur Jeremy Fall shares how to turn fresh ideas into an authentic career, challenge the old standards of masculinity, and address mental health without shame
Jeremy Fall grew up blocks away from LA's infamous Skid Row with a single mom who managed a restaurant to make ends meet. At night, he’d go into the kitchen and prepare elaborate and comforting snacks—the only way he knew to calm his anxious, OCD mind. As an adult, Jeremy opened fourteen restaurants around the country, collaborated with Quincy Jones, made the “Forbes 30 Under 30” list in 2020, and became the first restaurateur to be represented by Jay Z’s Roc Nation. Having built a business persona based on wild, borderless creativity, he feared that treating his mental health issues might come at the cost of his drive and creativity—but that didn’t happen.
Determined to destigmatize mental health for men, Falling Upwards blends Jeremy’s personal narrative with practical takeaways, outlining core paradigms like The Studio 54 Effect, Paperclipping, and The Power of Basic to help us harness our craziest, most out-there loose balloon ideas and make them work for us—without giving up on our own mental health.
—Yung Pueblo, poet and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lighter
Acclaimed entrepreneur Jeremy Fall shares how to turn fresh ideas into an authentic career, challenge the old standards of masculinity, and address mental health without shame
Jeremy Fall grew up blocks away from LA's infamous Skid Row with a single mom who managed a restaurant to make ends meet. At night, he’d go into the kitchen and prepare elaborate and comforting snacks—the only way he knew to calm his anxious, OCD mind. As an adult, Jeremy opened fourteen restaurants around the country, collaborated with Quincy Jones, made the “Forbes 30 Under 30” list in 2020, and became the first restaurateur to be represented by Jay Z’s Roc Nation. Having built a business persona based on wild, borderless creativity, he feared that treating his mental health issues might come at the cost of his drive and creativity—but that didn’t happen.
Determined to destigmatize mental health for men, Falling Upwards blends Jeremy’s personal narrative with practical takeaways, outlining core paradigms like The Studio 54 Effect, Paperclipping, and The Power of Basic to help us harness our craziest, most out-there loose balloon ideas and make them work for us—without giving up on our own mental health.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published September 5, 2023
7 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 13, 2023
Falling Upwards: Living the Dream, One Panic Attack at a Time by Jeremy Fall is about the author’s journey to manage a successful career while juggling his mental health issues. Jeremy Fall was raised by a single mom who managed a restaurant. Jeremy grew up blocks away from LA's infamous Skid Row and he and his mother struggled financially.
Skid Row is known for being an area where people who are down on their luck or addicted to drugs hang out. The majority of people who reside at Skid Row live on the streets. Society expects people who come from this area or surrounding area to stay there and not excel in life.
At night, Jeremy would go into the kitchen in the restaurant and prepare snacks that would help calm his anxious, OCD mind. He creates things without following a recipe but to his own taste. Following his dad, Jeremy was drawn to the nightlife and wanted to create something that was low key but still fun and noteworthy. He created a few successful ventures in the nightlife and food space. He became known as “The Food Guy”. Many of his ideas were widely successful, creative, and out of the box. He used this idea of “paper clipping” two unrelated ideas to make a successful new idea.
As Jeremy continues to rack up accolades and achievements, he still couldn’t quiet the voices in his head that told him that he wasn’t good enough. He struggled with crippling anxiety that would leave him coughing and unable to focus on the situation at hand. Jeremy was hesitant to see a therapist or take drugs to help manage his condition until one day he decided he needed to stand up and take charge of his health.
I thought the book was an interesting read. I am not familiar with Jeremy Fall so reading about his work and accomplishments was new for me. I enjoyed reading to see how Jeremy tries to use his anxiety to his advantage until the day he realizes he needs help. It was a big step for him and anyone else who realizes when they need help and tries to get it. It was refreshing to read about his experiences with his therapist and finding the right treatment plan for him.
I liked reading about his different career paths and accomplishments. I did hear about the boozy cereal milk idea but had no idea the author was behind its creation. It was interesting to see his thought process in creating new ideas. His idea of “paperclipping” seemed cool and I am not sure if it can be applied to other areas but it was an interesting technique to learn about.
It was entertaining to read about his childhood and how his childhood experiences shaped him. He got his love for food from his mother and his love for nightlife from his dad and he paperclipped those two loves into a successful career. It was inspiring because he grew up with modest means and tried to be successful so he would never have to feel poor again. As someone who grew up in a similar financial situation, I can understand and connect with him on that level.
I also tend to have a lot of anxiety and it was educational seeing someone else describe their anxiety. He had a similar experience and even our need to people please over our own wellbeing. We both tend to stress and overthink situations that are beyond our control. The author also shared a helpful tip on using a stop light when we find ourselves spiraling. We should stop to think about why we are thinking about it and then understand why we feel the need to continuously ruminate on it. Then we decide if it is something in our control or if we can do anything to change the situation. If not, we should let it go and move on. I found this helpful when I found myself stressing over something and was using a similar technique when I was trying to manage my anxiety. If you are a fan of Jeremy Fall, I think you would enjoy this book.
Skid Row is known for being an area where people who are down on their luck or addicted to drugs hang out. The majority of people who reside at Skid Row live on the streets. Society expects people who come from this area or surrounding area to stay there and not excel in life.
At night, Jeremy would go into the kitchen in the restaurant and prepare snacks that would help calm his anxious, OCD mind. He creates things without following a recipe but to his own taste. Following his dad, Jeremy was drawn to the nightlife and wanted to create something that was low key but still fun and noteworthy. He created a few successful ventures in the nightlife and food space. He became known as “The Food Guy”. Many of his ideas were widely successful, creative, and out of the box. He used this idea of “paper clipping” two unrelated ideas to make a successful new idea.
As Jeremy continues to rack up accolades and achievements, he still couldn’t quiet the voices in his head that told him that he wasn’t good enough. He struggled with crippling anxiety that would leave him coughing and unable to focus on the situation at hand. Jeremy was hesitant to see a therapist or take drugs to help manage his condition until one day he decided he needed to stand up and take charge of his health.
I thought the book was an interesting read. I am not familiar with Jeremy Fall so reading about his work and accomplishments was new for me. I enjoyed reading to see how Jeremy tries to use his anxiety to his advantage until the day he realizes he needs help. It was a big step for him and anyone else who realizes when they need help and tries to get it. It was refreshing to read about his experiences with his therapist and finding the right treatment plan for him.
I liked reading about his different career paths and accomplishments. I did hear about the boozy cereal milk idea but had no idea the author was behind its creation. It was interesting to see his thought process in creating new ideas. His idea of “paperclipping” seemed cool and I am not sure if it can be applied to other areas but it was an interesting technique to learn about.
It was entertaining to read about his childhood and how his childhood experiences shaped him. He got his love for food from his mother and his love for nightlife from his dad and he paperclipped those two loves into a successful career. It was inspiring because he grew up with modest means and tried to be successful so he would never have to feel poor again. As someone who grew up in a similar financial situation, I can understand and connect with him on that level.
I also tend to have a lot of anxiety and it was educational seeing someone else describe their anxiety. He had a similar experience and even our need to people please over our own wellbeing. We both tend to stress and overthink situations that are beyond our control. The author also shared a helpful tip on using a stop light when we find ourselves spiraling. We should stop to think about why we are thinking about it and then understand why we feel the need to continuously ruminate on it. Then we decide if it is something in our control or if we can do anything to change the situation. If not, we should let it go and move on. I found this helpful when I found myself stressing over something and was using a similar technique when I was trying to manage my anxiety. If you are a fan of Jeremy Fall, I think you would enjoy this book.
August 2, 2025
Maybe I'm a hater, maybe this wasn't what I was expecting. I was really hoping to have a very relatable book and follow someone's story who deals with anxiety yet has clawed their was up to be so successful.
This book read like self-help. I hate self-help books.
Just my opinion but this book felt like it went nowhere and simply bounced around the author's ideas for 205 pages. I do not recommend unless you enjoy self help style novels.
This book read like self-help. I hate self-help books.
Just my opinion but this book felt like it went nowhere and simply bounced around the author's ideas for 205 pages. I do not recommend unless you enjoy self help style novels.
July 13, 2024
4+ stars. I’m always interested in books about mental health. I’m unfamiliar with the author. He has a lot of really good experience — worth a listen. One thing was frustrating — who was Jared who died by suicide in 2018?? I’d like to know more about him, if I could learn a last name or see his obit.
October 2, 2024
Completely self-aggrandizing.
The literary equivalent of Kim Kardashian saying
“You just have to work harder…”
The literary equivalent of Kim Kardashian saying
“You just have to work harder…”
December 31, 2024
Amazing read!
December 31, 2024
Jeremy's vulnerability is so refreshing. I highly recommend anyone who's interested in working on their mental health.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews