Lucky, Lucky

Lucky, Lucky is a memoir by Nina Riggs chronicling her experience with breast cancer after receiving a diagnosis at age 37. As a mother of two young sons, poet, and descendant of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Riggs writes about her daily life and reflections while navigating illness. The narrative moves between past and present, exploring Riggs' family history, her relationships, and the small moments that make up a life. She writes about both everyday occurrences and profound realizations, from home repairs and family vacations to medical treatments and conversations about mortality. Riggs examines life's contradictions and uncertainties with clarity and wit, finding meaning in both joy and hardship. Her background as a poet shapes her observations about love, parenthood, legacy, and what it means to live fully in the face of limited time. In this memoir, Riggs creates a meditation on the nature of luck itself - how fortune and misfortune intertwine, and how humans make sense of the random events that shape their lives. The work stands as an exploration of finding wonder and gratitude even in life's most challenging circumstances.

There are not enough internet reviews to create a summary of this book. Instead, here is a summary of reviews of Nina Riggs's overall work: Readers connect deeply with Riggs's raw, honest portrayal of living with terminal illness in "The Bright Hour." Many note her ability to balance heavy subject matter with humor and warmth. Readers appreciated: - Clear, poetic writing style - Moments of unexpected levity - Practical insights about facing mortality - Personal anecdotes about family life - Philosophical reflections without becoming preachy Common criticisms: - Some found the narrative structure loose and meandering - A few readers wanted more focus on medical details - Others felt uncomfortable with her occasional light tone given the subject matter Ratings: Goodreads: 4.3/5 from 21,000+ ratings Amazon: 4.7/5 from 1,000+ reviews One reader wrote: "She manages to be both profound and funny while staring directly at death." Another noted: "Her voice feels like a close friend sharing their deepest thoughts." Some compared the book favorably to "When Breath Becomes Air," with readers often recommending reading both memoirs together.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi A neurosurgeon writes about confronting terminal cancer while navigating medicine, meaning, and mortality.

The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs A writer documents her experience with metastatic breast cancer through reflections on family, literature, and the everyday moments that define life.

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald A memoir weaves together grief over a father's death with the author's journey of training a goshawk.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion A writer examines grief and memory in the aftermath of her husband's death and her daughter's illness.

Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie A meditation on loss chronicles the death of a father during the Covid-19 pandemic while exploring cultural dimensions of mourning.

🌟 Nina Riggs was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 37, the same age her mother died of multiple myeloma 📖 The book's title comes from a darkly humorous moment when Riggs received her terminal diagnosis and the doctor said she was "lucky" to have lived in a time of advanced cancer treatments 💝 The author's great-great-great-grandfather was Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose philosophical writings about life and nature influenced her own perspective on mortality 🎨 Riggs wrote much of the book in real-time as her illness progressed, completing it just weeks before her death in February 2017 🌿 After Nina's death, her husband John found solace in connecting with Paul Kalanithi's widow Lucy; Paul authored "When Breath Becomes Air," another memoir about terminal illness, and the two families shared similar experiences