Published June 17, 2014
About the Book:
Allison Weiss has a great job...a handsome husband...an adorable daughter...and a secret.
Allison Weiss is a typical working mother, trying to balance a business, aging parents, a demanding daughter, and a marriage. But when the website she develops takes off, she finds herself challenged to the point of being completely overwhelmed. Her husband’s becoming distant, her daughter’s acting spoiled, her father is dealing with early Alzheimer’s, and her mother’s barely dealing at all. As she struggles to hold her home and work life together, and meet all of the needs of the people around her, Allison finds that the painkillers she was prescribed for a back injury help her deal with more than just physical discomfort—they help her feel calm and get her through her increasingly hectic days. Sure, she worries a bit that the bottles seem to empty a bit faster each week, but it’s not like she’s some Hollywood starlet partying all night, or a homeless person who’s lost everything. It’s not as if she has an actual problem.
However, when Allison’s use gets to the point that she can no longer control—or hide—it, she ends up in a world she never thought she’d experience outside of a movie theater: rehab. Amid the teenage heroin addicts, the alcoholic grandmothers, the barely-trained “recovery coaches,” and the counselors who seem to believe that one mode of recovery fits all, Allison struggles to get her life back on track, even as she’s convincing herself that she’s not as bad off as the women around her.
With a sparkling comedic touch and tender, true-to-life characterizations, All Fall Down is a tale of empowerment and redemption and Jennifer Weiner’s richest, most absorbing and timely story yet.
My Thoughts:
Weiner is one of my favorite authors and one who I feel just keeps getting better and better. There are some other authors I love and have followed since their first book who are still good but their books have lost something a little along the way. That is far from the case with Weiner. This was maybe her best yet, or it's at least one of her best. It's a more serious turn for her, but the trademark things that are her are still here. Her wit and gift for writing women who come across as being very real is here, as is in all of her books. Her characters have grown up with her as her books have gone from younger women and the perils of dating to a woman dealing with the issues faced with marriage, motherhood, aging parents, careers, etc.
Allison is a character who I think many women can relate to; she's juggling all of the various hats that women wear these days and the pressure that comes with it all. Many struggle with the feeling we must be perfect and handle it all, but really, who can do that and stay sane? The story also deals with addiction to painkillers which is a common issue for many. It has become prevalent in recent years and in the spotlight with several celebrities who have dealt with it. I haven't dealt with it personally, but what Weiner has written reads as being realistic. It's an addiction that can happen to anyone with all of our medications that seem to have side effects worse than what they are healing us of that we have available to "help" us these days. I have dealt with a back injury, and I was so paranoid about how addictive pain meds are that I suffered through it with taking as little of them as possible, for as short of time as I could because of my fears of ending up just as Allison did.
Without giving anything away, I was also very pleased with where Weiner went with the story and how it ended. She did a great job of portraying the downward spiral of a stressed out mother becoming addicted. She writes well the denial of that women regarding being addicted, as addicts have a hard time accepting that they are, in fact, addicted. Also, the ending isn't just tied up with a neat bow and perfect at the end. Life rarely is that easy, and the way the book ended read as something authentic, not something hunky dory perfect like books can be sometimes. I appreciated that, as especially with women's literature, it's something that happens a lot, and easily achieved happily ever after just isn't real. This is a much smarter and more complex book than the average women's lit/chick lit book.
Also have to mention, love her mentions of The Bachelor! I LOVE following her Tweets each week when it is on. She's hilarious!!
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