Genre:
Women’s Fiction
Format:
Audio
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster Audio
Release Date:
June 2014
Allison Weiss appears to have it all – loving husband, a sweet young daughter, a beautiful home and a career she loves, but appearances can be deceiving.
Her father has the early signs of Alzheimer’s, her daughter is spoiled, her husband is drifting away and her mother can’t seem to handle much of anything. She begins to seek help from prescription drugs. Just a pill here and there to take the edge off, but then it becomes much more than that. Before she knows it, she’s trying to buy medication from any place she can and washes it down with wine. What started out as a prescription medication for an illness becomes an addiction.
Allison is in total denial of her problem until her husband finds out. He fears for the safety of their daughter and has Allison sent to rehab. She’s convinced she doesn’t belong there and spends most of her time thinking of ways to get out. Then it hits her, she really does have a problem.
Although this is fiction, it’s a realistic account on how easily day-to-day problems can effect someone and turn them into someone they don’t even recognize. That’s how it is for Allison. I felt the realism of the situation and each character literally comes to life and can be anyone you might meet on a daily basis.
I always listen to Jennifer Weiner’s books on audio. They are easy to listen to. This one is no different. My big problem is that – on audio – the daughter’s whining and brattiness came through loud and clear. Perhaps too much. LOL It was like nails on a chalkboard to me. It was easy for me to see why Allison was having a difficult time dealing with her.
I admit, while my heart went out to Allison, there were also times I want to shake her. I thought she was too critical of her mother and too distrusting of her husband, but that’s what makes the story so intriguing.
It was an interesting book to listen to and it certainly gives you much to think about.
For reading challenges:
Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge 2015
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2015
Disclosure: I borrowed this book from the library. All opinions expressed are my own.
I read this one at the end of last year. I can see how some of the situations would be harder to listen to than read. I, too, felt that the book showed how easy it would be to consider what you were doing "normal". And I wanted to shake her too. Whew!
ReplyDeleteI read an article not too long ago that was talking about how the largest growing sector of prescription drug abuse is actually college educated, middle to upper middle class women and this seems to fit into that. I can see how the daughter's whining would get annoying. It might be better to read this one!
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