We Are the Luckiest
We Are the Luckiest by Laura McKowen:
honest, raw, and real!
We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life by Laura McKowen was a powerful book I would recommend to any human being—whether they drink or not.
Initially, I couldn’t believe this book landed in my lap. I had literally just had a conversation with my father about members of our family who struggled with alcohol and addiction—hearing shocking stories of many benders gone massively awry—stories I could hardly connect to some of the greatest people I loved, respected, and had only ever known for decades of my life as completely sober.
To be totally honest, I wasn’t even sure what I would receive from this book as I had also recently commented in awe during the same discussion—wrapping my brain around the finality of all out sobriety, “Like, NEVER again? Totally sober, FOREVER? Not even a casual drink at a party? NEVER have a drink—EVER again?”
I picked up this book thinking that I myself had no desire for a totally sober life. As a lightweight and sporadic drinker who enjoys champagne socially—someone raised on the repetitive mantra, “everything in moderation”—even after knowing many who have struggled with excessive drinking, I was still personally baffled by the “all or nothing” outcome that addiction seemed to often conclude with.
So from this limited perspective on addiction and with a ton of curiosity, I read and read and read this book in a single day—unable to stop reading these raw and honest words so eloquently (and at times, quite humorously) written.
I have deep respect for Laura McKowen as a nonfiction author—she is as honest, raw, and articulate as a writer can get. Her words are beautiful, and her messages are straightforward.
Above all, she is real.
More than any other adjective, I would describe this book as “honest”—so truthful, so genuine, and likely one of the most beneficial books someone struggling with addiction could actually relate to authentically.
I found myself jotting down many, many comments in the margins—the true tales and admissions eliciting strong responses like, “Aversion! Always running! Embrace sitting in stillness! Learn to love being alone! Validate yourself! Face yourself! Literally stop running! Wow. Jeez. Yes!”
If nothing else, this book brought out many emotions—stimulating and daring—with its core thesis revolving around telling the whole truth.
This book has an amazing trajectory and is a true story of redemption—featuring a protagonist you can’t help but root for.
This book reminded me a bit of two other redemptive tales about beating addiction: Wasted by Marya Hornbacher and Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain by Portia de Rossi.
For anyone struggling with addiction in any form, or who knows anyone struggling with addiction—(likely, most all of us)—I highly recommended checking out this excellent and compelling memoir!
“We all have something. It can be big like death, divorce, addiction, illness, or it can be something more socially acceptable like perfectionism or working too much or people-pleasing. The point is, we all have some thing—often many things—that push us to our limits and call us to change.”
—Laura McKowen
