REVIEW for Fall to Pieces

A big thank you goes out to Harper Collins Canada and Deanna for sending me this book!






TITLE: Fall to Pieces

AUTHOR: Mary Forsberg Weiland

GENRE: Memoir

RATING: 4 Stars


http://www.harpercollins.ca/books/9780061719158/Fall_to_Pieces/index.aspx
http://browseinside.harpercollins.ca/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061719158

Unfortunately, we live in a time where addiction is an all too common shared experience. One of the positive things to come out of it, I believe, is the fact that some people who struggle through this hell, somehow find the strength to overcome their demons and have the courage to put it all down on paper – so that other people who are suffering can read their words and maybe, feel as though they are not alone.

Fall to Pieces was exactly that type of book. I love the fact that I had no idea who the author was. This actually happens to me quite often. I see a book on addiction and recovery and I pick it up, only to discover that it was written by someone who is somehow in the spotlight – either directly or indirectly. As it turns out, I had no idea who Mary Weiland was and since I am not a huge music fan, I was pretty clueless about her husband as well.

However, as soon as I started reading this memoir, I instantly connected with Mary and found myself getting completely involved in her story.

Sometimes, when I read a memoir of this type, you can actually see the “addict in the making” and this was definitely the case with Mary. As I was reading, I kept thinking “wow, what were the chances she would come out of that childhood without an addiction?” Nobody really knows why one sibling will become addicted and the other(s) don’t – but from Mary’s description of her childhood, she sounded so incredibly sad and lost that it made me want to cry.

Weiland is brutally honest about her part in this story and, frankly, she certainly went out of her way to make her life as complicated as possible and makes no excuses for herself. As fate would have it, she would also end up hooking up with both a) the love of her life and b) the man who would end up being a destructive force in her life. I could not help but think that Weiland was, on some level, perhaps looking for a man who represented her father? However, this is MY theory and I could be 100% wrong.

From the moment Mary hooks up with Scott – you can actually feel both the love and the hell that each of them was falling into – and this was, to me, the most fascinating aspect of the “addiction” part of this story. It amazed me to see how two humans could love each other, yet, be so destructive to themselves and each other and Weiland does not shy away from giving us the often gory and always sad details of their lives as both spoiled superstars and stark raving drug addicts. I wanted to hate both of these people – but although they were so obviously off the charts, there was something touching and poignant about them that kept reminding me that addiction takes no prisoners.
The obvious love and struggles that Mary goes through as she realizes that she can no longer live this life, but is in love with a man who somehow “must” continue on this path was heartbreaking. I cheered for Mary as she desperately struggles to find her “true” recovery – and in the end knowing that if she chooses this route, she will end up loosing the man she loves.

I also loved the fact that Weiland NEVER speaks blames all of her woes on Scott – in fact, throughout the story, I have to say that Weiland pretty much always took the high road and chose to tell HER story