Jennifer Weiner has written some of my favorite books and is one of the authors who really introduced me to “chick lit.” She has shown me no reason to stop being faithful to her and I tend to pre-order all her novels.
Allison Weiss is a mommy blogger who has it all, or at least she has it all on paper. She is married to a man who has become more of a roommate and her 5-year-old daughter is sensitive to every little thing. When her father is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Allison takes matters into her own hands by self medicating with Percocet, Vicodin and Hydrocodone that she keeps on hand in an Altoid tin. Her addiction spirals out of control: she buys pills online in bulk, she embezzles a couple grand from her boss and she gets caught by her daughter’s teacher trying to drive after mixing pills with wine.
After an intervention, Allison is sent to rehab where she spends a few weeks in denial before turning her focus on her recovery. There is an “escape for rehab” plot line during this part of the book that is a bit ridiculous, I can’t imagine it being possible to pull off in a real world setting, but other than that everything seems very rooted in reality.
I am very lucky, I’m a newlywed with a husband who adores her, no children and my parents are in wonderful health- it is easy to judge someone taking the easy way out with pills but Weiner creates a lovely balance between “shut up Allison, you’re a narcissistic idiot” and “well, I’d probably pop a Vicodin, if I were her.”
It’s a bit heartbreaking in parts but overall an enjoyable read.
