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    See You on the Way Down: Catch You on the Way Back Up!
    See You on the Way Down: Catch You on the Way Back Up!
    See You on the Way Down: Catch You on the Way Back Up!

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    Ebook98 pages1 hour

    See You on the Way Down: Catch You on the Way Back Up!

    By Greg Behrendt

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    About this ebook

    In See You on the Way Down… Catch You on the Way Back Up!, comedian and #1 New York Times bestselling author Greg Behrendt opens up about his rise to the top and the high-speed rollercoaster of ups and downs that followed.

    You may know him best as the co-author of He’s Just Not That Into You, but sometimes he wishes you didn’t. During a serendipitous opportunity to serve as a consultant on the hugely successful television series Sex and the City (which was brought about by a lack of straight men in the writers’ room), Behrendt passed along what would become pop culture-defining relationship advice to a colleague: “He’s into you, he’s just not that into you.”

    What was intended to be a casual conversation soon exploded into a phenomenon for women around the globe and landed Behrendt multiple appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, changing the trajectory of his career. Grateful for the success that the book (and later, movie) brought him, Behrendt did not intend — nor expect — to be a relationship expert. The stark adjustment to this new level of fame led to emotional struggles as Behrendt tried to remain true to himself and advance his other career goals. Stand-up shows at famed comedy clubs would be interrupted by fans of HJNTIY, and interview appearances would focus solely on the popular relationship advice rather than his new stand-up specials. Through it all, Behrendt grappled with getting people to focus on the work he loved most — comedy.

    As he managed professional hiccups, Behrendt was also battling personal difficulties. In the span of a few years, he would receive not one but two cancer diagnoses and fight to overcome prescription drug addiction, all while grieving the loss of two beloved family members who had struggled with their own addictions. As the stress mounted for himself, so it did for his wife and daughters.

    Behrendt is the first to admit that he’s made mistakes and that he will — like all humans — make more in the future. See You on the Way Down may not have all the answers, but it shows how resilience, time, and a sense of self can get someone back up after a hard punch… or a few. Humble and hopeful, Behrendt’s story will show you that while the high moments may not last forever, neither do the low ones. All it takes is the right help.

    Editor's Note

    Not-so-funny business…

    From “He’s Just Not That Into You” to “That Guy From That Thing,” from being Oprah’s relationship guru to rehab and cancer, comedian and author Behrendt has experienced many highs and lows. In this raw memoir, he takes readers behind the scenes of how just one phrase uttered while working on “Sex and the City” altered the course of his entire life — for better, for worse. Even during the darkest times, his humorous, generous spirit shines through.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEverand Originals
    Release dateFeb 15, 2024
    ISBN9781094460802
    Author

    Greg Behrendt

    Comedian Greg Behrendt was a consultant for three consecutive seasons on Sex and the City. His acclaimed stand-up comedy has been seen on HBO, Comedy Central Presents..., The Tonight Show, Late Show with David Letterman, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter.

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    • 4/5
      Great story and written with some humor, even as Behrendt hits bottom several times. I will keep pulling for him as I’ve enjoyed his humor for years, and hope he will continue to thrive.

    Book preview

    See You on the Way Down - Greg Behrendt

    PROLOGUE

    I don’t expect you to know who I am or what I’ve done. I’m not famous. Not now, anyway. I was famous for a hot minute — that time has long since passed. You can google me to see a series of unfortunate but dynamic hair choices. But I’m no longer famous. I’m okay with it. Let’s get that out of the way up front. This is not a woe is me book. Fame is a tricky business; it takes a lot to maintain. It can bring you great fortune, but it can also screw up your life and relationships. It also matters what you are famous for. There are a myriad of ways to be famous, especially now with the advent of social media and streaming everything. You can be a famous athlete or famous for taking it right in the nuts. You can be famous for taking your clothes off… and you can be famous for putting clothes on.

    I became famous in the fall of 2004 for telling women their boyfriends didn’t like them. Really! It seems like that would make you unpopular with people, but not me. I was the stopped-on-the-street, people-staring-at-me-in-restaurants kind of famous. You may not know my name, have read my book, or have seen the movie they made out of it, but chances are, you’ve heard someone say the phrase He’s just not that into you. You may have even said it to somebody. You may have seen it used in the press in reference to any number of stories like China Is Just Not That Into You, or We’re not that into Donald Trump, our former president. Maybe you’ve seen the famous episode on the groundbreaking series Sex and the City, where the phrase made its formal debut. In any event, I said it. Obviously, I wasn’t the first or only person to say he’s just not that into you in the history of the world; I just happened to say it to the right person at the right time for the right reasons. If I had said it today in a similar situation, I don’t know that it would have the same impact. But we’ll talk more about that later.

    This book is the story of a man who desperately wanted to be a rockstar, became a comedian instead, then stumbled into being an internationally known relationship guru only to then be derailed by losing his sobriety, going to rehab, getting cancer, struggling with bipolar disorder, getting cancer again, and alienating everyone who loved him. Hilarious, I know, but I’ll make it fun. And while I now have less hair, rest assured, it is still dynamic.

    CHAPTER 1 – BEFORE I WAS OUTSTANDING

    There is every probability that you don’t know who I am, so why should you care about me? It’s a question my wife asks on a daily basis. While I’m just a regular guy, I’ve done a few outstanding things. At least, they used to be outstanding. I’m a used-to-be-outstanding guy, let’s put it that way. But before that, let’s get to the part prior to when I became outstanding.

    I was born in the summer of 1963. July 21, to be exact. My mother would remember that day always — not because I was born, but because it was the day she could have wine again. I’m not kidding. In 1963, Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco, California, served wine in the maternity ward and allowed smoking (something else my mother loved).

    I was born cross-eyed and a little dopey to Dick and Susan Behrendt. They both worked in television. They were good people. Great people, really. Funny, smart, kind, left-leaning centrists who sometimes voted Republican. They were upwardly mobile but not materially possessed. They loved going to the theater, the 49ers, and comedy albums. There was always a lot of laughing. Being funny carried a ton of weight in my family. More weight than most other things, in fact. On the weekends, our house was filled with my parents’ friends. They cocktailed often. There was plenty of drinking, which as a kid, just looked festive and fun. Think Mad Men, and you’ll understand right away.

    When I was around five years old, I remember getting the other little kids on our block to come over to my house and play a game of cocktails. I assembled them all in the living room, put out dry roasted peanuts and highball glasses filled with ice water, then attempted to get everyone to talk politely. Needless to say, it failed, as the other kids had no fucking idea what we were doing, and someone started throwing the peanuts.

    It’s an understatement that, as a young man, I was fascinated by my parents. I wanted to be just like them. Especially my dad. He was handsome but not in an intimidating way, and he always smelled clean. In those days, there was this almost obsession that men needed to smell clean. The idea that an aftershave was all the rage, a defining sense of identity, seemed sophisticated to my young brain. I loved the sound of their names: Brut, Aqua Velva, Old Spice, English Leather. Whatever my dad wore was citrusy and clean. It never occurred to me that it was also a cover-up for all the drinking he was doing back then. Two-martini lunches were popular in those days.

    My dad started his career as a cameraman at KRON-TV — the NBC affiliate in San Francisco — worked his way up to news director and was eventually made station manager, a job he would end up hating. My mother also worked in television, was a patron of the arts, a Stanford graduate, and an avid drinker who would become surly and unpredictable after 5:30 p.m. every night.

    My younger sister, Kristen, and I would lock eyes, brimming with worry as the weather conditions in the living room shifted from sunny to decidedly moody with a hundred percent chance of unpredictable. We sought refuge in our childhood bedrooms or in the arms of our paternal grandma — the greatest person to ever walk the Earth — who lived down the street from us. She founded and ran the Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show, which Kristen and I would work at each year. Much to my mother’s displeasure, she was around a lot. The proximity to Grandma and having to share my dad and us with her made my mom prickly. (Add the general complexity of growing up in an alcoholic household to that, and you’ve got a recipe for success!)

    In telling my story, I want to be transparent: I adored my mother, there was a lot to love, and she adored me, too, but alcoholism clouded that. If not for her total belief in me that I was funny and was meant to do something artistic, I wouldn’t be writing this today.

    My relationship with my sister was complicated. We were very different people in many ways, and yet, we had a ton in common. We were both products of growing up in an alcoholic household, but our reactions to it were completely different. Whereas I diffused problems with humor, Kristen reacted with anger. I learned early on that making people laugh was my currency. Being funny in my family was almost like a sport; everyone from my grandma on down was funny. It’s how we interacted, it’s how we got along, it’s how we diffused pain, it’s what made me love the holidays when we all gathered around a big table trying to outdo one another. But Kristen was funny. I don’t think anyone has ever made me laugh harder than her. She also had rage, though, from a very early age.

    When I was in kindergarten, my friends

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