All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner

Published: June 17 2014

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20342944-all-fall-down

Source: Purchased

SYNOPSIS

From a #1 New York Times bestselling author comes her "best book yet" (Philadelphia Inquirer), a "compulsively readable" novel that shows "there's no doubt Weiner knows how to deliver a certain kind of story, and well" (The New York Times Book Review).

Allison Weiss got her happy ending: a handsome husband, an adorable daughter, a job she loves, and the big house in the suburbs. But while waiting in the pediatrician's office, she opens a magazine to a quiz about addiction and starts to wonder: Is a Percocet at the end of the day really different from a glass of wine? Is it such a bad thing to pop a Vicodin after a brutal Jump & Pump class, or if your husband ignores you? She tells herself that the pills help her make it through her days; but what if her increasing drug use, a habit that's becoming expensive and hard to hide, is turning into her biggest problem of all?

Hailed as "a witty, realistic criticism on the modern age" (Boston Herald), this remarkable story of a woman's fall into addiction and struggle to find her way back up again is Jennifer Weiner's most masterful, moving, and celebrated work yet.

REVIEW

I purchased this book to read for my book club, it is my first Jennifer Weiner novel, and let me tell you, it will not be my last! I am so excited to get to the book club meeting this month and discuss this amazing book.

We follow the life of Allison, and soon learn that not everything is "picture perfect" for her as some people may think. She lives with her husband Dave and their daughter Ellie in a big house in suburbia. Everyone thinks that she has it together, she comes off as the perfect wife, the perfect Mother, and she writes for a popular blog.

We soon learn that the way that she has been dealing with everything is to pop prescription pain medication, she thinks that she has it under control, and that there is nothing wrong with what she is doing because she is getting them prescribed to her, from more than one Doctor might I add. 

Allison only starts to wonder if there is something wrong with her popping the medication once she takes a quiz at the Doctor's office, and she finds herself coming up with excuses as to why she needs to take them, and why she is different from other people. I have been around people like this in the past, and that is the addiction talking, however, until they come to understand that, there is no one that can help them.

We follow Allison's life for a few months, and we come to see when the medication that she was taking, because she was taking it so much, started to not work for her anymore, and she calls one of her Doctors and lies about needing something more. The reason that she is able to get these prescribed is because she hurt herself at the gym a couple years before, and has back troubles. The only issue I had with this book is that she is able to call her Doctors and just talk to them over the phone and get medication prescribed, this would never happen in Canada (where I am from), so it baffles my mind and really rubbed me the wrong way.

This book covers addiction and the control it has over people, and also the subject of rehab, and whether it is for everyone that has an addiction. You can see how it can happen to so many people, and how easily accessible pain medication is in our society now. 

I loved the ending to the book as there was a realistic ending, and not the typical, let's wrap it up with a happily ever after, you are left to come to your own conclusion as to what happens to the characters.

I loved nearly everything about this book, the characters, the plot, the pacing, like I said only had one issue with it, but that did not take away from my overall reading experience. I give this book a 5/5, and recommend it for anyone that it looking for something a little more serious in their reading experience.