Blind Spots: A Riches to Rags Story

One day you’re on top of the world, the next you’re chained in a jail cell on Rikers Island. It turns out that actions have consequences.

Gregory Blotnick lived a life of excess, drugs, parties and world travel, spending money as fast as he could make it. At age thirty, he had everything a man could ever want. It still wasn’t enough. Driven by unchecked ambition and vainglory, he risked it all on himself with no plan B. . . only to discover what happens when burning the boats goes horribly wrong. Each time he thought he'd hit rock bottom, an even rockier bottom laid in wait beneath it. But just when he thought that he’d lost everything a man can possibly lose, he found what really matters.

Written from two jails and a rehab clinic, Blind Spots is a shocking, dark and searingly honest memoir, a rollercoaster of decadent highs and soul-crushing lows, and a cautionary tale of how your greatest weakness is always your greatest strength taken too far.

All book proceeds donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).

Read the Reviews

KIRKUS REVIEWS

An ambitious young entrepreneur tells of his experience with white-collar crime in this memoir.

“Starting from my very first day of work as a useless pissant, I always felt like I was lucky to be given each and every opportunity that came my way,” writes Blotnick at one point in this revealing remembrance. After graduating from Pennsylvania’s Lehigh University with poor grades during the depths of the Great Recession of 2007-2009, he landed an internship with a hedge fund, he writes. Later, he was accepted to Columbia University’s esteemed business school. He thrived in financial services, he says, as he loved the fast-paced work, and after a decade, in 2019, he went into business for himself. His firm, Brattle Street Capital, promised massive returns for a small group of investors—mostly Blotnick’s friends and family members. However, when the Covid-19 pandemic turned global markets upside down, his fledgling business struggled. Desperate to fulfill his promises to his investors, the author sought out lines of credit elsewhere—and found it in millions of dollars of fraudulent loans, he says. In this memoir, which was written largely in jail, Blotnick effectively details his rise to wealth, success, and prominence—and shows how easily it all fell apart. As an author, he’s alternately funny and wise, easily shifting between self-deprecating monologues about grades to frank discussions of privilege, money, and an American criminal justice system that’s “custom-built to turn your warm heart cold.” His vivid descriptions of the violence, filth, and neglect that he and others experienced at Rikers Island will evoke sympathy, but he admirably stresses repeatedly that he isn’t writing to make excuses for himself or garner readers’ pity. Instead, he writes to expose his own mistakes.

A raw, self-aware, and earnest remembrance.

Link to full review at kirkusreviews.com

US REVIEW OF BOOKS

"People who love you aren't worried about the legal, the societal, or the moral, because they're busy riding in on war elephants."

Blotnick makes no excuses and offers no defense for taking out millions of dollars in fraudulent federal loans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he paints a clear picture of the desperation, pride, and drug abuse that culminated in a catastrophic mistake with compounding consequences. A traumatic childhood injury and devastating loss in his formative years resulted in Blotnick turning to drugs and alcohol very early in life as a coping mechanism. A college graduate with no discernible skills, Blotnick landed a job with a hedge fund where he learned discipline and patience and was introduced to the world of finance. He earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and worked as an analyst at Citadel. At age thirty, he had several million dollars in liquidity and launched his own equity hedge fund. But an unpredictable market response to the global pandemic and his escalating drug problem signaled the end of Blotnick’s string of good fortune.

Engaging and entertaining, this memoir is a self-deprecating “tragic and cautionary tale of total self-destruction.” Blotnick delivers a well-written, thought-provoking, and incredibly honest account of his fall from grace interspersed with funny anecdotes from his life. He emphasizes the danger of thinking, “It could never happen to me.” Using a sardonic writing style, the author conveys life lessons in loyalty, humility, and true friendship. The book gives readers a front-row seat to the all-consuming, toxic world of finance, which encourages sacrificing all in the relentless pursuit of money that will never bring true happiness. Throughout his account, Blotnick repeatedly asks himself the question at the forefront of everyone’s mind: Why? Why not just admit to his investors that he made a bad stock prediction and cut his losses? In answer, he shares this poignant truth: “Pride isn't the opposite of shame, it's the source.”

Link to full review at theusreview.com

MANHATTAN BOOK REVIEW

Gregory J. Blotnick’s Blind Spots is a searing, unflinching memoir of self-destruction and consequence, an account that begins in the high-stakes world of finance and ends in the bleak reality of prison. With raw honesty and sharp wit, Blotnick recounts his meteoric rise in the hedge fund industry, his reckless decisions, and the catastrophic fallout that followed.

From the opening pages, Blind Spots grips the reader with its visceral portrayal of incarceration. Blotnick’s arrival at Rikers Island is told with a detached, almost surreal clarity—an immediate plunge into a world where survival is uncertain, corruption is rampant, and human dignity is an afterthought. This opening sets the stage for a memoir that is equal parts confessional, cautionary tale, and darkly comic reflection on the nature of power, greed, and self-delusion.

Blotnick’s story is not one of sudden downfall but of slow erosion. He traces his trajectory from a privileged upbringing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, through the cutthroat world of hedge funds, and into the depths of addiction and financial fraud. The book’s structure—organized around four pivotal Aprils in his life—reinforces the cyclical nature of his choices and the inevitability of his collapse. The narrative is punctuated by moments of levity, self-deprecation, and brutal introspection, making it both engaging and uncomfortable.

One of the memoir’s most compelling aspects is its refusal to seek redemption. Blotnick does not paint himself as a victim nor does he beg for sympathy. He acknowledges his crimes, accepts his punishment, and exposes his own hubris. This lack of self-pity is refreshing in a genre often riddled with justifications and revisionist narratives. Instead, Blind Spots operates as a postmortem of a life built on unchecked ambition, the illusion of control, and the refusal to acknowledge limitations.

The writing itself is crisp and fast-paced, blending financial insider knowledge with street-level grit. Blotnick’s voice is a mix of erudition and bravado, a reflection of both his Ivy League education and his time spent navigating the harsh realities of prison life. He shifts seamlessly between humor and despair, creating a memoir that is as entertaining as it is sobering.

If there is a flaw in Blind Spots, it is that Blotnick’s relentless cynicism can, at times, overshadow deeper emotional insights. The narrative thrives on wit and irony, but occasionally at the expense of vulnerability. Still, this detachment may be part of the book’s power—it forces the reader to connect the dots and reckon with the true cost of blind ambition.

In the end, Blind Spots is not just a riches-to-rags story, but a meditation on the consequences of ignoring one’s weaknesses. It is a riveting, thought-provoking read that lingers long after the final page. Highly recommended for those who appreciate unvarnished truth and masterful storytelling.

Star Rating: 4.5 / 5 by Manhattan Book Review

Link to full review at manhattanbookreview.com