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Sex and the City, Saul Bellow, Eyes Wide Shut, Dante and the American self, Barbara Kingsolver, acting in Hollywood, Soviet painting in Soho, Angels in America, Jane Austen in the present, J.K. Rowling–nothing escapes Lee Siegel’s incandescent eye. Siegel possesses an intellectual range and independent perspective unmatched by his peers, and Falling Upwards brings together the best of his essays, all of them rich with the trades mark wit and intelligence that have won him many friends and a few enemies. In these essential writings, Siegel deftly uses the occasion of a book, film, painting, or television show not merely to appraise it, but to make sense of life in a way that is more defiant of impoverished cultural “norms” than most contemporary artistic expression. Guided by the belief that a calculating self-interest in art-making diminishes the prospects for the imagination in life, Siegel celebrates authentic sensibilities and lambasts manufactured sentiments. With uncanny insight, yet also with incomparable logic and analytical rigor, he has invented a new idiom in which the language of criticism embodies the playful, creative, synthesizing power that has been largely abdicated by the arts in our time. In writing about works of culture, Siegel has created a standard by which to judge them.

Description

“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.