Happy and You Know It

Happy and You Know It, by Laura Hankin, is a funny, twisted story about class, motherhood, and the ever-present wellness industry.

In the beginning of the book, Claire’s band got rid of her, brought in a sexy replacement, and suddenly became famous. She’s depressed and looking for some kind of work, when her cousin gets her a gig playing toddler songs at a playgroup.  Claire’s in a bit of a fiction-poor situation, because there are occasional, brief mentions of her other part-time work, but when she wants to call out at the last minute or take time off for a trip, no problem! There’s definitely no boss in the background telling her that she’s responsible for getting coverage or she’s fired and there’s definitely no stress coming from desperately needing that $8/hour to pay her rent.  Anyway.

But even fiction-broke Claire is still a different class from the playgroup mommies at her new job. They’re not all on Park Ave, actually, only one mommy lives on Park, the others live in massive apartments or brownstones nearby. These are Insta-perfect stay-at-home moms, with adorable children, and probably husbands with boring finance jobs.  Whitney, the playgroup host, even has a popular mommy Instagram.

I recently wrote about finding the Insta-influencer life kind of flat in Influence. It works well in Happy And You Know It, with the focus on joyous motherhood, wellness, self-care, and just #blessed. I could see what was aspirational about Whitney’s adorable baby and mommy sisterhood, and I could see her thought process in taking and choosing photos to present that life.

Especially in covid times, we’re constantly bombarded with self-care and wellness ads. Bath bombs for mental health! Scented lotion for relaxation! Essential oils! And don’t forget the magical powers of vitamins and supplements.  So, when Whitney’s stylish-motherhood Insta account was offered complimentary vitamins or mommy fitness classes, it all seemed legit to me. And, like Amara and Daniel, I figured the main outcome of TrueMommy vitamins would be very expensive pee. I just loved how readers are led through believable friendship and marriage tangles towards the major, tabloid-worthy conflicts here.

I enjoyed Happy And You Know It, but I have to admit it had a couple moments of too-easy coincidence and a few times when literally any lie would have diffused the dramatic situation.  (Whitney could have claimed her shady Wednesday me-time was actually a secret McDonalds binge, for example.) Overall, it’s a fun story of upscale, stylish, competitive mommyhood, as well as a sharp look at the wellness/self-care industry.