Kay Hudson

I could stand to lose a few pounds, but I’ve never been seriously overweight. As a kid I was downright skinny, saved from an uncle’s merciless teasing only by the fact that one of my cousins (Norma Jean the String Bean) was even thinner. So Kristan Higgins’ Good Luck With That, the story of three women, Georgia, Marley, and Emerson, who became fast friends at “fat camp” is pretty far removed from my own experience. That said, so many other elements of their lives as women are totally on point for any reader.

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The story begins (no spoilers, this is on the back cover) when Emerson dies of complications of extreme obesity and leaves her friends a bucket list they wrote when they were eighteen. Georgia, a lawyer turned nursery school teacher, and Marley, a personal chef, set out to accomplish some of the things they dreamed of when they were teens. Now in their mid thirties, they find that list leading them out of their comfort zones and into new attitudes and adventures.

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Higgins is known for romantic comedy (and truly hilarious keynote speeches). Good Luck with That moves out of the romcom subgenre, but there is definitely both humor and romance included, with Georgia finally realizing what went wrong in her failed—but perhaps not unsalvageable—marriage, and Marley taking interest in her weirdest catering customer—lost soul or serial killer?

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This book has spawned some controversy on review sites, with some angry readers calling it (and Higgins) “fatphobic.” I found it enlightening, emotional, touching, and ultimately life-affirming and loving. Georgia and Marley are very different women, but closer than sisters, haunted by very different childhood memories. I found myself rooting for each of them to find her happy ending—without having to make herself over into something unsustainable to reach it.