RFM Bookshelf: How Lucky You Are by Kristyn Kusek Lewis

There are only a handful of books I’ve read over the years that I come back to time and time again, and How Lucky You Are by Kristyn Kusek Lewis is one of them. Maybe it’s the fact that the novel is set in Virginia, or maybe it’s how the characters seem like they could be your neighbors. Whatever it is, this book grabs my attention every time I reread it.

The story follows longtime friends Waverly, Kate, and Amy as their adult lives start to quietly unravel behind closed doors, even though they look like they have it all together from the outside looking in. Each woman is grappling with a problem that the others know nothing about. Waverly is experiencing financial troubles, Kate is questioning the life she’s built for herself, and Amy is holding in a secret that may devastate her marriage and friendships.

As tension builds throughout the story, the characters’ secrets are finally brought into the open one by one, revealing how shame and the need to “keep up with the Joneses” can keep us from connecting with even our closest friends. How Lucky You Are is left open-ended as the women begin to repair their lives and friendships after coming to terms with the turmoil in their lives. Some may feel that this leaves loose ends untied, but much like the characters, their stories, and the lesson that “luck” is in the eye of the beholder, I think it’s true to life — one of the things that makes me love this book so much.