Mary Weiland “Fall To Pieces: A Memoir Of Drugs, Rock ‘N’ Roll, and Mental Illness”

Fall to Pieces: A Memoir of Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll, and Mental Illness List Price: $25.99 Sale Price: $14.99 Used From: $14.09 Average Rating:

Description

In March 2007, twenty-four hours after Mary Weiland dragged her husband Scott's pricey rock-star wardrobe onto their driveway and torched it, she was locked up in a mental hospital. Watching all this were her frightened extended family, a conflicted husband wrestling with demons of his own, and a tabloid industry gone gleeful at the "Bonfire in Toluca Lake!" To the outside world, Weiland had led what seemed to be an enviable life. A successful international model in the nineties, she married her longtime sweetheart—famed lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots and, later, Velvet Revolver, Scott Weiland—in 2000. Mary was the sane one, went the story—it was the tempestuous, unpredictable Scott who was crazy. In her gripping memoir Fall to Pieces, Mary Weiland reveals that the truth is somewhere in between. From her earliest days in San Diego, Weiland displayed signs of trouble: a black depression that sometimes left her immobile for days, a temper that sent her into wild rages she didn't understand, an overdose. But her fierce determination to "have more" led to early success as a model. At sixteen, she fell in love at first sight with Scott Weiland, then an aspiring musician who was hired to drive her to and from modeling gigs. Slowly, her casual relationship with beer and pot grew into an affair with cocaine and heroin that rivaled her love for Scott, who was addicted as well. From rehab to rehab, from breakup to reconciliation to eventual marriage, the couple fought their way back, welcomed the babies they'd dreamed of, and hoped their struggles were behind them. Then came the bonfire breakdown and the full onset of Mary's bipolar disorder, a widely misunderstood and misdiagnosed mental illness that affects more than five million Americans and had been, in fact, stalking Mary Weiland since her teens. With refreshing candor, innate comic timing, and earned wisdom, Weiland recounts the extreme highs and lows of her life, including an unforgettable love affair with the man she always knew she'd marry, the careers and rock tours that took them around the world, and her fight to finally come to grips with the addictions that could have killed her. In her journey to understand and manage her bipolar disorder, she takes the reader on a wild ride into the dark and back into the light.

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• ISBN13: 9780061719158
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Reviews

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

I heard the author on the radio and thought that her story sounded interesting enough to seek out. I was glad I did. Mary does a good job explaining her struggles with addiction (drugs and her relationship with Scott Weiland) and her mental illnesses. I have read (too) many Hollywood biographies but I actually enjoyed this one. Her writing does leave a little to be desired but overall she tells a good story. Anyone wanting to know about mental illness will be surprised to read how candid she is in this book. She writes about her emotional, mental and physical reactions to her bipolar disorder in great detail. It is a very quick and easy read. It offers something to think about long after you read it.

This was a page turner, I read it in one day. I really love the ending. It was so positive - it made her seem really likable. It made me want to root for her! And her romance with Scott? It was like Twilight for my age group. Had to keep reading to find out what happened next!

If you enjoy non-fiction - YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK! Easy read. Interesting life and uphill battle. Love reading how other beings deal and dealt with life. You'll enjoy her wit and fight.

Mary ended up in a mental institution after throwing her husbands clothes out and setting them on fire. She suffered from depression and would lay in bed for days. A lot of the time, she didn't even know why she was reacting a certain way. Addiction and depression seem to go hand in hand, so Mary was battling both. It's an absorbing read that hits close to home for me. I too suffer from depression and it is a very difficult illness to live with. I know how brave Mary must be to pour out her life for the whole world to read. She's a strong woman and I hope that her book inspires others to get the help they need.