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Book Details Title: We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life Author: Laura McKowen Number of pages: Publisher: New World Library (January 7, 2020) Language: English ISBN: 160868654X Rating: 4,9     258 reviews

Book Description Review “Laura McKowen’s fearless, eloquent, powerful story is an ode to living an awakened life. Yes, this is a book about getting (and staying) sober, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about embracing the beautiful messiness of being human. Readers of We Are the Luckiest are lucky indeed.” — Dani Shapiro, New York Times bestselling author of Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love “Heartbreakingly candid and brave, Laura McKowen takes us on an unflinching journey of what it means to get sober. We Are the Luckiest explores what it means to reclaim one’s life — and more. An unforgettable, soulful read.” — Ann Dowsett Johnston, author of Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol “Vulnerability sounds great in theory and is hard as hell in practice. Laura McKowen writes with grace and wisdom — but also with huge vulnerability. By telling her story with raw, unflinching honesty, she invites us to look at our own stories with new compassion.” — Claire Dederer, bestselling author of Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses and Love and Trouble: A Midlife Reckoning “A candid exploration of the challenges and joys of sobriety, both getting there and staying there. [McKowen] is a frank and vulnerable excavator of the mess that accumulates in all our lives, not just those who struggle with drink or drugs, and she reminds us that addictions can take many different forms.” — Boston Globe “This brilliant work of writing may hit closer to home than you’d expect.” — Parade “Timely, defiant, and beautifully written. . . . Imbued with emotional honesty and hope, We Are the Luckiest urges a gentle curiosity and self-compassion for even our darkest places.” — Mindful “Laura speaks to that place within us where what breaks our heart becomes our highest learning and our most invaluable currency.” — Elena Brower, bestselling author of Practice You “Raw, deep, and hopeful.” — Foreword “Laura McKowen is a stunning writer, and this book is a gift for everyone: the newly sober, those with longtime sobriety, those for whom the sands are beginning to shift, and those who simply aren’t sure where they stand. This is beautiful, revelatory writing filled with grace and awareness about what it means to be a complicated human being living in a complicated world, and not only surviving but thriving. It will be a blessing for everyone who reads it.” — Elissa Altman, author of Motherland: A Memoir of Love, Loathing, and Longing “Affecting, heartfelt . . . McKowen’s moving story will be a boon to those seeking help with addiction.” — Publishers Weekly “In a voice both direct and kind, Laura McKowen shines a shame-erasing light on her history of addiction and illuminates the lucky life she found in its wake. Through personal stories and practical advice, she offers readers a path to the other side of their own struggles — and more importantly, she illustrates with eloquence and vividness why that path is more than worth the effort. As a person in long-term sobriety, even I found inspiration and useful tips in this warm, compassionate book.” — Kristi Coulter, author of Nothing Good Can Come from This “McKowen’s narrative serves to inspire and uplift.” — Library Journal “We Are the Luckiest is a hope-inducing dose of narrative medicine for those who fear that life ends after drinking does. Like a long, honest conversation with a very good friend, Laura’s story is a gift to anyone starting out on that scary, lucky path.” — Melissa Febos, author of Whip Smart and Abandon Me “We Are the Luckiest is ultimately about the wild and holy effort of trying to face this great big unsayable love inside us without numbing ourselves from its blazing truth or distancing ourselves from the fact that it’s here with us, whether we ever believe we’re worthy of it or not. Laura McKowen’s words are drenched with proof of the existence of this unsayable love, and with hope that it’s never too late for any of us to begin to say yes to a life that’s courageously present to it.” — Meggan Watterson, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Mary Magdalene Revealed “Inspiring, sincere, and full of heart.” — Shelf Awareness Read more About the Author Laura McKowen had a successful career in public relations and the Mad Men–esque drinking culture of advertising. After getting sober, she became recognized as a fresh voice in recovery, beloved for her soulful and irreverent writing online and in print. She now leads sold-out retreats and courses, teaching people how to say yes to a bigger life. She lives outside Boston. Read more Customers Review: I think one of the most important things to say about this book is that it is not only for people who struggle with drinking or drugs. It is really for anyone who suffers from any type of behavior that looks even a little bit like addiction – candy, relationships, sex, love, food, shopping, etc. Really if there is something in your life you want to stop and you try but you can’t, this book is for you. It is also helpful for people who feel like their life is a failure and who look on social media and everyone looks amazing and perfect, this can help you realize that everyday people just like you are having a hard time, making huge mistakes, and yet still finding a way to come back from that and keep on keeping on. Her social media feeds are also very helpful because you see that she does not have it all together but she keeps at it. It is up, and down and up and down. I haven’t struggled with a substance addiction, yet I have found her writings and now book to be incredibly helpful and encouraging in the face of things all going to hell in a hand basket. You may too. The book is truly moving. I wanted to drink it all in at once, but it brought out so much emotion that I had to pace myself. Very little that I’ve encountered in the recovery rooms (or anywhere) speaks directly to my heart like this. My path has been similar to the author’s in many respects, but quite different in others. This book simply and powerfully captures the shame, pain and confusion of the alcoholic, before and during early sobriety.She is at her best when she honestly and openly describes inner struggle and growth; going beyond the compulsion to drink, into a clear-eyed analysis of how we relate to other people, and ultimately to ourselves. Laura gently yet unflinchingly carries us through her journey from those trying early days, to how she learned acceptance, self-awareness and self-love. How she has come to terms with both the good and evil within, the fact that we are all ‘magnificent monsters’.This book, and Laura’s work in general, rings so true because it brings the language of recovery beyond AA meetings and therapists down to the specifics of everyone’s individual struggle. How she describes the milieu of her life, and her perspective on children, relationships, self and the divine are very much in tune with how people relate to the world and each other in modern terms.Her profound description of her spiritual journey moved me to tears almost every chapter in the book. I cannot say enough about how incredible this book is, and what a gift she has shared.The book closes with part of one of my favorite poems, from Rilke. She doesn’t include the last lines, but here they are:”I am circling around Godaround the primordial towerand I still don’t know if I am a falconor a stormor a great song.” -RilkeThis book is indeed a great song. Laura’s was one of the first voices I heard in early recovery. If it hadn’t been for her and Holly Whitaker, I truly don’t know if I would have been open to choosing sobriety. (And by “sobriety” I mean the most truthful, intense, agonizingly breath-taking, challenging, f-it-up-and-keep-going, worth-while kind of life). In Laura’s words and tone I heard the possibility of finding a way forward no matter what our past or present reality looks like. I heard the possibility of forgiveness existing side-by-side with full and total responsibility (and how the latter only ever truly exists with the former). I heard the possibility of a way of being in and part of the world that made me sit up and loudly declare “I want THAT.” She has a voice like no other, and we are all the luckiest to get to hear it. I’ve been an avid follower of Laura’s blogs and podcasts over the last few years and was so excited to finally get my hands on “We are the Luckiest”, and wasn’t able to put it down once doing so. (and I think I’ve underlined almost the entire book!) I’ve never struggled with alcohol but am in recovery from an eating disorder and found so much of her story and message to be relatable to my own process, and just exactly what I’ve needed to see put into words. (the latter of which she does so beautifully) Regardless of what your “thing” is, I strongly recommend reading this book. Laura, thank you. I continue to be so grateful for you and encouraged by you. This is one of the most gripping reads I’ve read, period. Laura has a distinctive voice that is at once humorous, vulnerable, honest, kind, and compelling. I read half of the book in one sitting. The beginning, learning about her rock-bottom, was harrowing in such a visceral sense. I do not read a lot of memoir, but for my money, this is up there with the other great writers of sober tales like Mary Karr and Caroline Knapp.I hope this is just the first of many from an impressive author. I found Laura through the Home Podcast, and based off that, I knew that I would buy the book. I have read a lot of books from the “quit lit” genre, but Laura’s is a fresh take on addiction. It really is an every day woman’s explanation of how alcoholism begins and creeps into your whole life even when you deeply love your child. She discusses how AA saved her, but that she also has reservations regarding some aspects of the program. She also provides her attempts to get sober, and her relapses. The part of the review that is difficult to articulate, is just LOVELY and POIGNANT the writing is to the story. It’s a wonderful read.