So Lucky: The bold, brilliant Sunday Times bestseller you need to read this year

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I stumbled across this podcast after reading your book and I absolutely love this! I feel as though your content is so real and relatable to everyones day to day life and it’s good to know that no matter how big or small our problems are - we are all going through something. Dawn O’Porter in 1983 and 2022 Dawn O’Porter in 1983 and 2022. Later photograph: Simon Webb/The Guardian. Styling: Andie Redman. Hair and makeup: Heather Marnie. Archive photograph: courtesy of Dawn O’Porter This was actually a hard book to read. The two main characters, Ruby and Beth, are living difficult lives. Ruby especially is such a self contained woman, she is difficult to like. Yet by the end of the book I found myself feeling proud of her, like she was a friend you are rooting for. Beth too, finds strength and clarity.

Thank you Dawn for writing such an unflinchingly honest book about the best and worst things people can do to themselves and each other.

I laughed and I cried and I read some parts through squinted eyes. This book was everything I didn’t know I needed. I’ll be thinking about these women for a long time.

In true Dawn style, she has created layered, interesting characters who rile you up but also make you fall in love with them. If you enjoyed The Cows, you are going to LOVE this book. Timely, funny and very very entertaining’ Emma Gannon I’ve also always wanted to have fun with my clothes, but when you grow up on a small island like Guernsey you’ve got to be really brave to break away from what everyone else is doing. So I used to follow the herd, even though I knew I wanted to look different. Then, in my early 20s, I discovered vintage and that’s when it came together. After I gave up on modern fashion it was such a relief and everything made sense. I was raised by a dressmaker – my uncle made furs – and he’d turn clothes inside out and show me how they were stitched together, and I have so much sensory nostalgia for what my mum was like. After reading, and loving “The Cows” , I really wasn’t sure that Dawn would be able to top the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with not love, but friendship, solidarity and most importantly acceptance but she REALLY has.

This book is spot on in so many ways, from swipes at celebrities who express “fashionable” mental health issues and “keeping it real” in terms of body image while constantly portraying unrealistically perfect lives and bodies, to Beth’s assistant’s well meant and sincerely held but sometimes naive conceptions of feminism. And while Dawn may be very protective of Art and Valentine's online personas we can't help but wonder if we can expect to see baby number three anytime soon."No!" she replies very firmly. "My leg clamps are on!" I think bringing kids up in LA - I don’t know what their future looks like in terms of being teenagers and who their friends will be but they’re not going to get any level of celebrity from me at all.

I really did love this book. Perhaps as much as the first and THAT’S saying something! I’d highly recommend this book to all. In between writing and parenting, Dawn is a regular on television - so could we expect her on Strictly? Unfortunately, although we think she’d be great, we’ll never see her compete for the Glitterball trophy: "It just doesn’t come naturally to me, I’d be horrific - I would get a horrible reputation for being a terrible person because I would just be so horrible to work with because I hate it". Fair enough, she does have enough on her plate, after all! Here I am, four years old and getting my photo taken at primary school. I look quite miserable, probably because I wanted attention all the time, but got quite shy when someone actually gave it to me.Dawn also collects vintage clothing, and admits to writing her best work when she is wearing a bonkers seventies dress and her hair is a voluminous bob. As someone who is often guilty of playing - and losing! - at the comparison game, it was a theme that drew me in. We meet the kooky slim girl, the career woman seemingly effortlessly juggling running her business alongside family life, the rich and beautiful influencer. Each one seems to have it all but, as we soon discover, things are rarely as they seem... Oh, and I have to mention Risky who is one of my favourite book character’s of all time. She’s hilarious, loyal and truly believes in female empowerment. She also has the perfect cure to beat the afternoon slump which is apparently better than a Mars Bar. 😉