All Falls Down by Jennifer Weiner

I remember my first Jennifer Weiner book, Good In Bed. I remember staying up all night, reading it and crying. I had been unable to put it down. It was high on my list of favorite books for a long time. But Weiner's other books didn't make me feel the same way. Slowly, I stopped reading her books. I don't know why I picked up All Fall Down. Maybe I hoped to recapture that feeling I had when I read Good In Bed. But I'm glad I did. Weiner has a way of making you feel like the main character is you. Or maybe I just identify with her characters. But I couldn't put All Fall Down down.

Allison has it all. The big suburban house, a daughter, a handsome husband, and a sucessful blogging career. But Allison can't keep up. Her father has Alzheimer's. Her mother calls crying each day. Her daughter is sensitive and is prone to tantrums.  Her husband is distant, Her boss wants her to blog more. Each day is a struggle for Allison. She never seems to get ahead. Unless she takes one of her pills (Oxycontin, Vicodin. etc), Allison feels like she'll lose her mind, But the pills make everything easier. One pill, two pills, then four or five just make it through. Allison finds herself losing everything to keep herself in pills.

While I don't have a pill addiction, I do have I can do everything attitude like Allison. I can clean the house, make dinner, do the laundry, go to work, exercise, plan family vacations, arrange schedules, until I collapse and lay in a heap, crying. Life is stressful. I can see how Allison took the path she did. I can also see how easy it is to go from one pill to my life revolves around taking these pills and procuring more. Weiner doesn't pull any punches. The reader takes the ride with Allison, feeling her highs and her lows. I loved Allison by the end of the book. She felt like my sister or my friend. I wanted her to find her way out of her mess. I wanted her to keep being Allison. She was smart, funny, you want her to succeed.

I'm so glad I took a chance on All Fall Down. I think this would make an excellent book club book. There's plenty to talk about! I'm going to be picking up Weiner's books again in the future. Others who shared their thoughts on All Fall Down: Booking Mama, Novelicious, and Running 'N' Reading.