All Fall Down

By: Jennifer Weiner

Narrated by: Tracee Chimo

Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Allison Weiss has a great job…a handsome husband…an adorable daughter…and a secret.

Allison Weiss is a typical working mother, trying to balance a business, aging parents, a demanding daughter, and a marriage. But when the website she develops takes off, she finds herself challenged to the point of being completely overwhelmed. Her husband’s becoming distant, her daughter’s acting spoiled, her father is dealing with early Alzheimer’s, and her mother’s barely dealing at all.

As she struggles to hold her home and work life together, and meet all of the needs of the people around her, Allison finds that the painkillers she was prescribed for a back injury help her deal with more than just physical discomfort - they help her feel calm and get her through her increasingly hectic days. Sure, she worries a bit that the bottles seem to empty a bit faster each week, but it’s not like she’s some Hollywood starlet partying all night, or a homeless person who’s lost everything. It’s not as if she has an actual problem.

However, when Allison’s use gets to the point that she can no longer control - or hide - it, she ends up in a world she never thought she’d experience outside of a movie theater: rehab. Amid the teenage heroin addicts, the alcoholic grandmothers, the barely-trained "recovery coaches", and the counselors who seem to believe that one mode of recovery fits all, Allison struggles to get her life back on track, even as she’s convincing herself that she’s not as bad off as the women around her.

With a sparkling comedic touch and tender, true-to-life characterizations, All Fall Down is a tale of empowerment and redemption and Jennifer Weiner’s richest, most absorbing and timely story yet.

©2014 Jennifer Weiner (P)2014 Simon & Schuster Audio

This could happen to any of us...

Would you consider the audio edition of All Fall Down to be better than the print version?

I find the audio editions easier to fit into my busy schedule. I particularly enjoy them at bedtime and while driving.

What was one of the most memorable moments of All Fall Down?

When she drove her young child while she was impaired.

Which character – as performed by Tracee Chimo – was your favorite?

The female lead character was my favorite.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I really don't want to listen to any books all in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

My attention was caught by the reality of the situation. By the fact that this could easily happen to anyone.

This is spot on

For anyone who’s experienced drug addition in their family, this book hits many nerves. Very well written of how addicted people think.

Love Jennifer Weiner!

Would you listen to All Fall Down again? Why?

Jennifer Weiner writes with such a great comedic voice, you cannot help to be drawn in. This story line is a much more serious than her other books, but still delivered with that unfailing humor.

Didn't relate

I have read Ll JW's books this one didn't resonate with me like the others did...

Addiction

Kudos to those who have the courage to over come their addiction and stay clean.

Wonderful!

Would you listen to All Fall Down again? Why?

Captivating story I couldn't stop listening to!

What was one of the most memorable moments of All Fall Down?

When she finally realized she had a problem.

What does Tracee Chimo bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Humor

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When she found her bottom.

A look into the life of an addict

This was such an eye opening book. I never really thought how someone could start abusing drugs...but it can start simply & before you realize you've spun out of control. It could happen to anyone I think.

Goes nowhere slowly

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Emotional Depth

What was most disappointing about Jennifer Weiner’s story?

The beginning of the story showed some potential, but it fell quickly into a mediocre very common story of an unhappy Woman who decides to take drugs. There was little to no character development. Her Rehab experience is boring and could have been gathered from any reality show. The Author tries to add depth by giving Dad Alzheimers and Mom a secret. Even that is typical.

What three words best describe Tracee Chimo’s performance?

very capable Narrator

Terrible.

What disappointed you about All Fall Down?

Perhaps if the main character was more sympathetic. Her reasoning for gobbling pills was basically that life is tough and stressful and it sometimes doesn't work out as you had planned. Hi, that's called life. I would have given the character more kudos if she simply said that she liked being high and being high felt better than not being high, rather than saying it was the only thing that made her life manageable (cause her life really wasn't that bad, sorry). The addiction itself was completely unbelievable-- that she would be able to take such strong and so many pills for so long and no one in her life notice beyond occasionally asking her if she was alright, and her responding "i'm fiiiine" over and over again in a really annoying tone drove me nuts. Finally when someone realizes that its time for her to go to rehab, she does her obligatory 28 days and comes out fit tan and happy, and does yoga every day and "takes life one day at a time!". So ridiculous and unrealistic.

Nothing New

Unfortunately, there have been many books written about addiction-the majority way better than this one. I found this to be a very superficial treatment of an important topic. I went on forever and the description of the main character’s marriage was at best incomplete. Can’t recommend.