I am a fan of Jennifer Weiner, and decided to read her older titles since I’ve read all the newer ones. This was a very compelling story of a woman who becomes addicted to painkillers after suffering a back injury. Allison Weiss, the protagonist, has a lot on her plate: a very demanding 5 year old, a dad with Alzheimer’s, a mom who can’t take care of Allison’s dad and requires care herself, a job that brings in the majority of funds for the household, since her husband lost his book advance, and whom she thinks is having an affair. Talk about stress! Weiner expertly sucks the reader into a very credible account of how Allison starts taking a few Vicodin and later moves on to Oxycodon, after lying to her doctors to wangle scripts. She is busted by a teacher after Allison arrives to pick up her daughter and a friend at school and attempts to drive them home after taking pills and drinking several glasses of wine. Allison then has to take a hard look at her life and decide what path she will follow.
