Be Ready When the Luck Happens book review

You know how people say, "If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready?" I thought that was a lie.

This book, Be Ready When the Luck Happens is by Ina Garten and the genre of the book is nonfiction, and the theme is memoir. It's kind of like an autobiography.

Y'all, I never even knew about Ina Garten until the pandemic. I started binge-watching Food Network, and I kept seeing Jeffrey come in while she was making roast chicken for him. I was like, "Oh my gosh. They are just the cutest." She absolutely loves him.

I've been waiting for this book. I just didn't know it.

I remember seeing the title and the cover and, I'll be honest, I was expecting a woman of color.

Then I saw it and thought, "What's the deal?" Ina explains it in the book. She bought a storefront that was already called Barefoot Contessa, put her own spin on it, opened a location in New York, and built everything from there.

There were two things that I thought were absolutely fascinating.

The first was that Ina and her husband separated for a period of time. The separation itself wasn't what stood out to me. It was how progressive they were about it. They acknowledged that Jeffrey had dreams taking him to Tokyo while Ina had dreams of building her business, working twenty-one-hour days, and creating something of her own.

Then there was the moment when Ina told him, "I need you to come back. I'm afraid I'll get too comfortable with you not being here."

"I know I can live without you, but I don't want to."

That was so incredibly romantic to me.

You don't get married because you want to spend every waking minute together. You get married because you love someone and want to grow through life with them. I actually think their time apart made their relationship stronger because they came back together knowing they could live apart, but choosing not to.

The second thing that really stood out was Ina's mindset.

This is a book about resilience. It's a book about determination. She talks about how she jumps first and figures out the details later.

That's what I need.

I'm a Taurus, so I'm naturally cautious. I'm also a lawyer, so I like knowing every step before I take it. I want to know the plan. I want to know the answer before I ask the question.

But I'm learning to let go of the "how."

I'm learning to tell myself, "Kyla, you'll figure it out. You're intelligent. The net will appear while you're falling."

That's hard for me, but this book came at exactly the right time.

Ina has done so many incredible things, and most of them weren't things she originally expected to do. She succeeded because once she decided she was going to do something, she went and did it.

I absolutely loved that.

I'll be honest, when you watch someone on TV, you feel like you know them.

I didn't know anything about Ina's background. She attended a Big Ten university but never finished. I assumed she had always been wealthy and had grown up knowing all about Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Instead, I learned that so much of what she has today is something she built.

She and Jeffrey both worked for the White House and the United States government. Jeffrey later became an investment banker and spent years living in Tokyo. The beautiful life they have now is something they created over time.

What I appreciated most was how fully Ina embraces changing careers. If something no longer serves her, she moves on.

That wasn't my mindset before.

Now I have an even deeper appreciation for Ina because she's dope.

She's a huge feminist, a big risk taker, and so many of the things you wouldn't assume just by watching her on television. That's what makes her story so compelling.

If you've ever struggled with taking the leap because you wanted all the answers first, I think you'll really enjoy this book.

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https://youtu.be/eTDk7zo3WC8?si=x3qSH17Vo3gkHYh_

Until the next book review, 

Kyla