The Bachelor star Clayton Echard has announced he's written a book about mental health, and his ex-girlfriend Susie Evans appears to be nothing but supportive.
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The Season 26 The Bachelor star took to Instagram on Monday and shared the cover of his new book titled 180 Degrees on Mental Health, Mindfulness, and Unlocking Self-Belief.
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"8 months later and I officially have a book to share with y’all!!" Clayton captioned his post.
"I wrote 180 Degrees partly for myself, as it was therapeutic to document my mental health journey from childhood up until now. It was long overdue for me to address all the jumbled-up thoughts in my head and begin to untangle them little by little."
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Clayton said he also "created" the book "in hopes of helping others."
Clayton wants people to "find their own self-love, self-belief, and confidence to open up" as well as "begin having necessary conversations centered around mental health, and most importantly, a sense of peace that they are not alone."
"We all face our own struggles," he continued in his post, "but I believe we stand the best chance at overcoming them when we look to others to help us when we can't do it alone."
By sharing his own stories and experiences in the book, Clayton hopes readers will "see there is a brighter path ahead and it's waiting for you to traverse it."
"That is, when you are ready to do so... For those that purchase a copy, I would greatly appreciate it if you could write a review on Amazon for me!" wrote the former medical sales representative and football player.
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For each copy of the book sold, Clayton said he'll be "donating 50% of the proceeds" to a mental health organization.
"I want to spread my message as far and wide as I can, so if you don't purchase a book but still want to be supportive, please like and share this post so that it can reach more individuals. Thank you in advance," he concluded.
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Susie, who won Clayton's heart on The Bachelor last year, shared Clayton's book to her Instagram Stories.
"Super proud of @claytonechard. He started writing this book when we were still together and I can genuinely say it gives you so much insight into who he is and the goodness he has in his heart," Susie gushed of her ex-boyfriend, whom she announced her split from in September 2022.
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"Every time we catch up it reminds me what a good person he is and how grateful I am to have spent time with him in this life. Go check out the book -- you can literally order on Amazon!"
Many other members of Bachelor Nation have also congratulated Clayton on his new book and offered some encouraging words.
"Congrats man! Massive accomplishment," Ben Higgins wrote.
"Congrats breh. Proud of you!!!" commented Mike Johnson.
And Blake Moynes wrote, "Good on ya," in the comments section.
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Clayton revealed on a December episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast how he had sent chapters of his book to Susie to read, edit and critique for him while he was drafting the book.
Clayton also told Becca Kufrin and Michelle Young at the time how Susie had put him on the path to writing this book.
"When [The Bachelor] ended [in March 2022], I had lost all stability and structure. I was like, 'What am I doing? I left my job. I guess I'm going to be an influencer now,'" Clayton recalled of his previous job in medical sales.
"I was trying to make the influencer stuff work, but it wasn't working like I thought. Influencing is hard! I hate that people say it's 'so easy' -- it is not easy! It is a full-time job and I'm not good at it, really."
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Clayton admitted he was "overwhelmed" and questioning, "What am I going to do next?!"
"And I was like, 'I'm going back to corporate America. I'm going back. I'm going back to medical sales, what's safe,'" Clayton shared.
But Clayton revealed that Susie had "stopped" him from making a mistake.
"She was like, 'Clayton, I see how happy you are on the days when you make an impact on people. I don't think you should give this up yet. I just think that you have more in you. I think you're not done. You've tried, but have you exhausted all options?'" Clayton recalled.
"And I was like, 'No,' so she was like, 'Okay, then keep working. Put your head down and try it again. Give it another chance.'"
Clayton apparently took Susie's advice and tried again, "in multiple areas," and then he said all of a sudden, things "started to turn" in his favor.
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"I was like, 'Wait, I actually can make a living off of what I'm doing, and it's not medical sales now, it's my passions -- true passions,'" Clayton explained.
"That only happened because of her. Otherwise, I would be back working my sales job right now."
Clayton and Susie have shared in the media how they split because they weren't compatible and had to work on themselves before being able to fully invest in a relationship with each other. Backlash from Bachelor Nation and being in the public eye also apparently didn't help their situation.
Clayton moved from Susie's hometown of Virginia Beach to live with his brother in Scottsdale, AZ, after his September breakup with Susie.
Clayton shared late last year how he was planning to buy a house in early 2023, and Susie, for her part, moved to Los Angeles, CA, in January to expand her business as a wedding videographer.
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