We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life

by Laura McKowen

Overview

“We Are the Luckiest is a masterpiece. It’s the truest, most generous, honest, and helpful sobriety memoir I’ve read. It’s going to save lives.”
— Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love Warrior: A Memoir


What could possibly be “lucky” about addiction? Absolutely nothing, thought Laura McKowen when drinking brought her to her knees. As she puts it, she “kicked and screamed . . . wishing for something — anything — else” to be her issue. The people who got to drink normally, she thought, were so damn lucky.

But in the midst of early sobriety, when no longer able to anesthetize her pain and anxiety, she realized that she was actually the lucky one. Lucky to feel her feelings, live honestly, really be with her daughter, change her legacy. She recognized that “those of us who answer the invitation to wake up, whatever our invitation, are really the luckiest of all.”

Here, in straight-talking chapters filled with personal stories, McKowen addresses issues such as facing facts, the question of AA, and other people’s drinking. Without sugarcoating the struggles of sobriety, she relentlessly emphasizes the many blessings of an honest life, one without secrets and debilitating shame.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608687862
Publisher:	New World Library
Publication date:	01/25/2022
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	62,381
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Bestselling author Laura McKowen is the founder and CEO of The Luckiest Club, a global web-based sobriety support community, and the host of the Tell Me Something True podcast. She has been published in The New York Times, and her work has been featured by The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, the Today show, and more. She lives outside Boston with her daughter.

www.lauramckowen.com

Table of Contents

Contents
1. Introduction
2. This is my thing.
3. Forget forever.
4. Stop getting on the train.
5. Find a house where the truth is told.
6. Push off from here.
7. Hell is other people (drinking).
8. The pregnancy principle.
9. Fantasy island.
10. A bigger yes.
11. The truth about lying.
12. Burning lonely.
13. We are all magnificent monsters.
14. The wrong questions.
15. A nice little life.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“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

Editorial Reviews

01/13/2020

McKowen examines her alcohol addiction in this affecting, heartfelt debut memoir. To the rest of the world, McKowen, a marathon runner and a vice president at a global marketing agency, appeared to have a great life, but behind closed doors she had an alcohol addiction that stretched back to her teenage years. McKowen writes of casual, inebriated hookups in college, one of which resulted in her getting pregnant and having an abortion. Later in life, as a single mother, she writes that “the night of my brother’s wedding, I left my four-year-old daughter alone in a hotel room overnight because I was blackout drunk.” A year later, after an exchange with her brother, she attended her first AA meeting despite her initial skepticism (“I had to believe they weren’t idiots,” she writes), then began practicing and teaching yoga. McKowen makes the case that her addiction, while incredibly painful and difficult, ultimately made her lucky by allowing her to experience an alcohol-free life. Even as she encourages others to follow her path, she acknowledges it is excruciating (“I wish I could say I never had another drink again after that meeting”) but promises it’s worth it. McKowen’s moving story will be a boon to those seeking help with addiction. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

12/01/2019

Oncologist Hill (pediatric palliative care, Indiana Univ. Riley Hospital for Children) shares a deeply personal story of addiction, depression, hope, and recovery in an effort to improve access, treatment options, and resources for all affected by similar conditions. Writing from firsthand experience, he relates feelings of extreme turmoil as well as the disappointments he faced in seeking treatment, emphasizing throughout the important role empathy plays in the process of healing and understanding the suffering of others with addiction issues.

Former public relations executive McKowen also touches on the problem of stigma but focuses more on her journey while drinking, not shying away from her ongoing struggles with sobriety. Geared primarily toward those currently in the throes of alcohol addiction or who are new to recovery, McKowen's account limns the uncertainty, pain, and loneliness she encountered on her path to a healthier, happier life. VERDICT Hill's engaging memoir comes with lessons for students and those working primarily in the medical field, while McKowen's narrative serves to inspire and uplift the layperson battling addiction.

Library Journal