Butter Side Up: How I Survived My Most Terrible Year and Created My Super Awesome Life

It is very rare that a book makes me tear up, but Butter Side Up: How I Survived My Most Terrible Year and Created My Super Awesome Life left me emotional from the first chapter. Jane Enright’s story of overcoming incredible odds is no short of extraordinary. A story you must read in its entirety to fully grasp, I recommend this book for all readers, especially those who need encouragement in trying times.

Jane Enright had what I would consider an ideal life. In addition to having a flourishing career, she was happily engaged to her very successful fiancé, Clayton, a proud mother of two graduating sons, and had a wonderful support system. This all changed in a blink of an eye when her fiancé Clayton landed himself in the ICU after suffering two head injuries. Unbeknownst to Clayton, who cannot remember anything, his injuries have left him with severe brain bleeding and a fractured skull. Although Clayton is still very much alive and inquisitive, he has no sense of what has happened to him and limited short-term memory. Jane realizes from the start that Clayton will be a sort of hospital “special case”; although he will undoubtedly suffer permanent injuries from his accidents, she believes that despite his age he will recover and with time restore much of his memory.

If there is one thing, I have to note about Jane during this time period, it is her remarkable courage. Faced with the task of not only extensively caring for her fiancé, she maintains her own career, takes over Clayton’s CEO position, and manages her family affairs, and her personal life, while still taking time for yoga in between hospital visits. In addition to all of this, Jane herself is suffering from brain damage. After being hit in the head with a volleyball, she struggles with speech aphasia and short-term memory loss. Needless to say, to already be suffering, yet still give yourself so fully to someone else’s care, career, and health is extraordinary.

Jane is eventually able to get Clayton into a rehab program to start working towards a more normal life for them all. Unfortunately for everyone, although this program helps, things aren’t working out as planned. Jane is soon faced with some of the hardest decisions of her life as she must decide on Clayton’s care in addition to receiving more life-altering news, a story I will let you read for yourself.

A book full of moving stories and wisdom, Jane Enright’s advice on handling difficult times is applicable to all readers. Butter Side Up shows that things may not go as planned, but joy can still be found in the hardest of moments.

Available for preorder. Releases June 7th, 2022.