All Fall Down

Allison Weiss, a 34 yr old, nice jewish girl living in the suburbs of

Philadelphia with her husband and son has everything a girl could possibly want. But then, why does she feel so bad, and so sad, and so stressed and so uneasy all of the time? She begins to mask the pain, real or imaginary, (following an injured back at the gym) with pain killers prescribed at her doctors visit. MRI and everything, for real. And then the pain killers became stronger and more often, and Allison felt empowered and had energy and this took the slight edge off her worries and her stress. She was able to get so much more accomplished. As her dad's Alzheimer's became more severe and her mother fell apart, her husbands job on the rocks, her blog a huge hit demanding more time than ever before and her daughter would not give her FIVE MINUTES TO GO TO THE BATHROOM PLEASE! It took more pills and stronger pills, and she was running out .... And so we are mesmerized by this realistic work of fiction that on the one hand it is easy to say blah blah blah, poor little rich girl problems and on the other, it is very very real. These drugs are highly addictive and destroy lives. All Fall Down is the story of love, family and trust  - that we will be there to catch you and pick up the pieces if you crash hard. Your friends and your family or friends that become like family are supposed to be there, like a marriage for better or for worse. But drugs distort boundaries and wear down strength and patience. I could not put down this wonderful new novel of a girl you cannot help but love. Jennifer Weiner once again brings these characters into our hearts, and we are rooting for them and cheering for them to win, succeed, or just survive. Fabulous summer read, when I picked it up I didn't even know the storyline - just that it was another of Weiner's books that would take me away with her and take me, she did. Highly recommend.