You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by sara_c_eggers
All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner
3.0
I follow Jennifer Weiner on Twitter for The Bachelor and read all her books. I really wanted to love this, and it had its moments.
This book served it's purpose: to help me take my mind off everything that was bothering me and to get some sleep, much like Allison taking a Perc to unwind. I'd like to focus on that positive aspect, because Weiner's writing is typically enjoyable and witty. It is a testament to craft to write a work that frees the reader from care and provides pure escapism.
I want to give a kudos to Weiner for addressing the many missing components of our mental health system. Every person deserves compassionate care from highly qualified providers regardless of the decisions or circumstances that led them to require such care. By her making Allison maybe the least sympathetic patient (yet still sympathetic) in rehab, perhaps more people will develop a sense of empathy and outrage for those individuals with horrifying back stories, unable to get efficacious treatment.
This morning, the front page of my paper was devoted to the story of a veteran who died in a police standoff while waiting for court ordered VA treatment of PTSD. The judge interviewed explained that he had ordered treatment following a domestic violence charge but getting it was impossible. This veteran drove a jeep around a field looking for IEDs in the week before his death. Individuals who need help should not have to wait for a bed, and should not have to be well connected to receive care in a decent facility. Allison's need for a required number of therapy sessions to receive a day pass, when a shortage of therapists prevented her from receiving them, is just one example of the kinds of challenges patients encounter when confronted with a shortage of resources.
This book served it's purpose: to help me take my mind off everything that was bothering me and to get some sleep, much like Allison taking a Perc to unwind. I'd like to focus on that positive aspect, because Weiner's writing is typically enjoyable and witty. It is a testament to craft to write a work that frees the reader from care and provides pure escapism.
I want to give a kudos to Weiner for addressing the many missing components of our mental health system. Every person deserves compassionate care from highly qualified providers regardless of the decisions or circumstances that led them to require such care. By her making Allison maybe the least sympathetic patient (yet still sympathetic) in rehab, perhaps more people will develop a sense of empathy and outrage for those individuals with horrifying back stories, unable to get efficacious treatment.
This morning, the front page of my paper was devoted to the story of a veteran who died in a police standoff while waiting for court ordered VA treatment of PTSD. The judge interviewed explained that he had ordered treatment following a domestic violence charge but getting it was impossible. This veteran drove a jeep around a field looking for IEDs in the week before his death. Individuals who need help should not have to wait for a bed, and should not have to be well connected to receive care in a decent facility. Allison's need for a required number of therapy sessions to receive a day pass, when a shortage of therapists prevented her from receiving them, is just one example of the kinds of challenges patients encounter when confronted with a shortage of resources.