Good Luck with That

Written by Kristan Higgins

Narrated by Xe Sands, Lori Gardner and Suzy Jackson

New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins is beloved for her heartfelt novels filled with humor and wisdom. Now, in her newest novel, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, she tackles an issue every woman deals with: body image and self-acceptance. Emerson, Georgia, and Marley have been best friends ever since they met at a weight-loss camp as teens. When Emerson tragically passes away, she leaves one final wish for her best friends: to conquer the fears they still carry as adults. For each of them, that means something different. For Marley, it's coming to terms with the survivor's guilt she's carried around since her twin sister's death, which has left her blind to the real chance for romance in her life. For Georgia, it's about learning to stop trying to live up to her mother's and brother's ridiculous standards, and learning to accept the love her ex-husband has tried to give her. But as Marley and Georgia grow stronger, the real meaning of Emerson's dying wish becomes truly clear: more than anything, she wanted her friends to love themselves. A novel of compassion and insight, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT tells the story of two women who learn to embrace themselves just the way they are.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781980010593

Kristan Higgins

Kristan Higgins is the New York Times, Publishers Weekly and USA TODAY bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than twenty languages. She has received dozens of awards and accolades, including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The New York Journal of Books and Kirkus. Kristan lives in Connecticut with her heroic firefighter husband, two atypically affectionate children, a neurotic rescue mutt and an occasionally friendly cat.

Reviews for Good Luck with That

[Crystal Lehmann · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow I think she followed me around my whole life. I laughed and cried and cheered.

[Lynn Pallaske · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reading this book, for alot of women I think provides a time and space to do a little introspection. A person does not have to be a certain size or look a certain way to feel and face what Georgia, Marley, and Emerson did and isn't that a shame. The statement that you have to love yourself first has never been pointed out so beautifully than thi

[Jess Kriel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great story.
Loved the voices of the readers.
Strong story line. Very relatable

[sallyelizabethmurphy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Heartbreakingly honest: hit too close to home and was at times difficult to read. Although I adored this book, I feel the essence of the story could have been told more succinctly.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I adored this story - it was brave, courageous and hard to read at moments - but it resonated with me so much. Good Luck With That is the story of three women who became best friends at fat camp and vowed that they would all change their lives and be skinny someday, but it opens up with a tragedy. Marley and Georgia have stayed really close - in fact they live in the same building - their pal Emerson though still lives a state away. It's been a few years since they've seen her and they are shocked when they get the call that she is on her death bed. When they arrived that are STUNNED at just how large Emerson is, she isn't just fat she is super morbidly obese and dying. What happened, how did she get so bad. They've all had weight issues their entire lives, but this is over the top. She gives them a letter and makes them promise to do what's in it. Sadly Emerson dies and they realize that she has given them the list from summer camp of all the things they said they wanted to do when they got skinny - get a piggy back ride, do a photo shoot, tuck in a shirt, etc. Marley and Georgia may not be super obese but they are both fat and they both have insecurities - is this list too juvenile... is it too hard? Wonderful and eye opening - a look at insecurity, weight, family, trust, and more. A wonderful novel.

[shazjhb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book. Fat women and life in the world. Not that it does not mention pretty much every mental health issue.

[katiekrug · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Kristan Higgins is a reliable author for me. She started out writing smart and funny contemporary romances, and seems to have now transitioned permanently to general fiction (I refuse to call this "women's" fiction) dealing with families and relationships. Unfortunately, this one was a bit of a disappointment for me as I felt the secondary characters (which Higgins usually writes really well) were all a bit one-dimensional and cliched. That said, the themes of the book about self-image, body positivity, and the power of friendship are important ones, and Higgins still injects some of her signature humor. I think I was hoping for just a bit more.

[marquis784-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good Luck With That by Kristan HigginsAugust 2018Berkeley Publishing I received this digital ARC from NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing in exchange for an unbiased review. Three teenage girls bond during summers spent at Camp Copperbrook, a weight loss camp for teens. Emerson, Marley, and Georgia find it exhausting trying to be invisible. Life as a fat woman isn’t easy, in fact, it is down right cruel. Over the years, the trio manage their weight issues very differently in their quest for “thinness.” A major theme in this book revolves around bullying and judging people based on their appearance or practices. While fat shaming is the most prominent issue, it gradually becomes apparent that other characters experience the same feelings of shame and guilt. After a tragedy occurs, the women begin to reevaluate their past which revolved around their weight. They begin a road to self discovery that empowers them to make changes they only dreamed possible.

[annbury_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Krista Higgins is my favorite writer of contemporary romantic fiction, but with this book she goes way beyond the category. Weight is a central preoccupation for many American women -- including me -- and Ms. Higgins shows how expectations and assumptions about weight can blight lives. Her three heroines are seriously overweight; one morbidly so, one to an extent that distorts her life, and one who actually manages to live with it fairly gracefully. Ms. Higgins shows the pain and self-loathing that bedevil women who are heavier than they want to be. She is vividly clear about the nature of food addiction, and about the horrible consequences of morbid obesity. At the same time, she manages to tell three involving stories. I really cared about the heroines, suffered when they suffered, and felt joy when things went well for them. A terrific romantic novel, and so much more.

[busyreadin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting read. Explores the cost of not loving yourself

[n.w.moors-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Georgia, Emerson, and Marley first met at fat camp. They have remained friends for years, especially Georgia and Marley. Emerson doesn't live as close so when the other two women find out she's dying, they feel devastated and guilty. They decide they must fulfill her dying wish that they check off the list of things they wanted to do back when they were eighteen and hoped not to be fat one day.I love this book so much. While there are the sections where I laughed out loud (every Kristan Higgins book has some of this and omg, the magic act), I also cried (Mason's race). There were some parts that are, to be frank, quite horrifying, but the whole book is so authentic. Georgia, Marley, and Emerson have strengths and weaknesses like everyone. Almost all the other characters are the same, except maybe Rafe, but I could emphasize even with Big Kitty, the main villainess when Georgia realizes the reasons her mother has issues also. There's a lot packed in here: Marley's twin died at age four and she's always felt guilty about it, Georgia pushed the love of her life into a divorce, Will is suffering from survivor's guilt. But it's never too much, and the laughter always balances the tears. Good Luck with That is a lovely, lovely story, and I expect to reread it a few times in the future. I wish I could give it more stars.

[grandmacootie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kristan Higgins posted a blog late last night announcing the release of her latest book, Good Luck with That. She explained some reasons she wrote it and described the book a little. And Kristan ended with this, “I hope GOOD LUCK WITH THAT breaks your heart and puts it back together, stronger than ever, full of resolve to take care of yourself in every way that counts. I hope you love this book, ugly-face cry while reading it, laugh out loud while reading it and close it at the end with a glow in your soul because you felt it all the way down to your bone marrow. I hope that with all my heart.” This is what she wanted to do for us – her readers who struggle each and every day, who have struggled for years, just like Emerson, Marley and Georgia. Well, this amazing, fantastic, terrific, marvelous, pick one glowing adjective book does that. It does all of that. She has succeeded 100, no, 1000 per cent. With this blog, she has written her own book review!When I finished reading my advanced copy of GOOD LUCK WITH THAT a couple of nights ago, before she posted her blog, this is what I posted on FB: “Dinner was a little late tonight because I could not put down my ARC of GOOD LUCK WITH THAT! I see that Kristan has put 'laugh - cry - laugh again' at the top of this web page. That is exactly what you'll do when you read this book. Have the tissues ready and be prepared to laugh out loud. And to have your heart feel so full it will nearly burst. Can you tell I loved this book? Yay, Kristan!” She hit the nail right on the head, didn’t she? Success!All of Kristan Higgins’ books are fabulous, with well-developed, smooth-flowing plots and strong characters that make you laugh and cry, but I think this book is the one that must have been in her for years, crying and pushing to get out. She tells the story of Emerson, Marley, and Georgia from their perspectives, and that works perfectly. The story is full of complex characters, a multi-layered, interwoven plot, with so much happening in the lives of lots all the characters, not just these three women. The bad characters are so bad you want to shake them. And the good characters are so good you just want to say, “Come here, honey,” and hold them.Marley’s family is strong and wonderful, but even with their love and support, which she doesn’t doubt for a second, her weight still defines her, makes her see limitations and a reality that may or may not be there. Georgia’s family is so-so. Or let’s just say that many of them are her biggest fans, but a couple of them are so & so’s, hateful and hurtful. The bad seeds in her family have made her doubt and second guess and always expect the worse, to believe she’s never going to be deserving or good enough. And there’s Emerson. It’s not a spoiler to say that Emerson dies early in the book, although I couldn’t believe I was full-on crying in Chapter 2, especially after just learning that Other Emerson’s boyfriend is Idris Elba (and why am I not surprised at that??). Emerson’s story is heart-breaking. We are sad and sorry for her right from the start. But as the book continues, we learn how strong she really was. And wish we could have known her. Could know all three of them. But maybe we do – they are us, aren’t they?I want to be best friends with all these women. I want to hang out with someone like Georgia, who thinks about Beck, “His skin color was Gollumesque.” Now there’s a mental picture that won’t be leaving soon, will it? And her reaction when meeting Rafael, “What if I went into a fugue state and humped his leg?” Another mental picture that won’t leave you soon, but you sure won’t be thinking of Gollum. Or Marley, who reflected, “Camden attracted women like a rotting corpse attracted flies.”I loved this book. I want to start from the beginning and read it straight through again. And I might as well, because I keep re-reading “the good parts” which really amounts to the same thing. It’s all good parts.Thanks to Goodreads for giving me an advanced copy of Good Luck with That, and to Kristan Higgins for writing. Never stop. I was not required to write a review, and all opinions are my own. Now please excuse me, I’m going to check off some items on my “When We’ll Do When We’re Skinny” list.

[jaxlynleigh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review*I couldn’t put this book down! Emerson, Georgia, and Marley are three best friends from a weight loss summer camp and have the kind of friendship others envy. Even though they didn’t always see each other as much after camp, their bond was still strong. When their friendship experiences unexpected loss, the power of what they formed helps each girl push beyond her comfort zone and build her confidence. At times, I found myself having to pay close attention to which character was narrating that particular chapter, but it was a breezy read.

[madison_fairbanks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good Luck With That by Kristan HigginsI wasn’t sure I wanted to read this. A bit too close to home. But like all books by this author, the characters, dialog and writing were intense and wonderfully enthralling. I loved it. Cringed a few times in self identification but wish for the self-acceptance that Georgia and Marley both achieve. Emotionally intense for anyone who has struggled with their weight and self body image. So many true statements that you don’t want to admit to. Food as an addiction. It’s not like you can stop, right? So then you must deal with the reasons and the emotional while still feeding the addiction. And a bit profound in the end.“ that’s what the list was about. The chance to get it right. It wasn’t about tucking in shirts and piggyback rides. It was about not letting your weight define you, and not letting that decide when you could be the person you wanted to be. She wanted us to stop waiting, and start living, the way she never got to, not totally. In the most innocent way, our 18-year-old selves had written a map to loving ourselves. The only thing wrong had been the title. It shouldn’t have been “Things to do when were skinny.” It should’ve just been “Things to do.”Excerpt from Good Luck With That by Kristan Higgins