Dr. Seth Meyers, Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Seth Meyers, Clinical Psychologist

Sunday, August 16, 2015

DR. SETH'S BOOKSHELF: All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner


I have to be honest: It was a struggle to finish this book. I had never read anything by Weiner before and figured I would give one of her books a try. I won't be reading another one of her books. All Fall Down chronicles the journey into pill addiction for main character Allison, a character who was superficially drawn. Weiner never let us understand what really drove this woman psychologically to addiction, and who she was before her addiction. 
There are so many good books about addiction. I actually think a good memoir by an addict is much more interesting than a novel about an addict, and I'm not sure that a non-addict - like Weiner - can write addiction as well as someone who lives the experience.

I find that Weiner writes in an overly sentimental style, and her real-life fascination (and live-tweeting) of the show The Bachelor suggests that she is drawn to social conventions more than she would like to believe. After all, she describes herself as a feminist, but I'm not sure that you can be a feminist and follow The Bachelor. I could be wrong, though, because I've certainly been wrong before. 

One bit of praise I have to acknowledge is Weiner's amazing vocabulary and her dexterous application of uncommon uses of words. I found myself thinking, Wow, this woman really earned her Princeton education!

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