Josey was pregnant, struggling to overcome her cocaine addiction, and determined her baby would not be born an addict like her second daughter, Kelly. After three attempts to clean up, Sabur, Josey’s husband continued offering her an endless supply of cocaine to keep her under his control.
Finally, Josey ran away, and with the help of Sabur’s mother, Sadie, she entered a long term rehabilitation facility and vowed she would never return to her husband. The only problem was that Sabur was a powerful and anonymous drug financier, and Josey loved him more than she feared him. Did Josey want what Sadie wanted for her and their children? Did she just want Sabur to love her and change their way of life, or did she have a choice?
Dr. Pearson, Josey’s psychologist at the Springwood Rehabilitation Center, had no knowledge of Josey’s husband’s involvement in her repeated relapses. He had Josey seek the underlying cause of her substance abuse by having her return to her early years, reliving her past, and analyzing her old memories. Josey begins thinking back to her childhood, to when the horrors began; to a time when she and her brothers and sister had to fight most of their young lives for survival while their parents were strung out on heroin; to a time when their parents had turned their apartment in a Brooklyn, New York housing project into a junkie’s hangout.
Top Customer Reviews
By Charlie Lomax, Turning Pages Book Club
The members of Turning Pages Book Club, all agree that before we pass judgement we must first walk in Josie’s shoes.
Josie, who is pregnant and addicted to cocaine, and she already has two other children being raised by her mother-in-law (Sadie). Josie, like many other women is addicted to her husband, and drugs, which he supplied to her. Is her husband Sabur, the bad guy or is he just a control freak that thinks that the only way he can control his wife is through feeding her drugs? Josie’s continuous love for Sabur even when she knows that he is the cause of her addiction and when her entire life has already been shrouded in drug addiction, since both of her parents were drug addicted most of her life.
Josie, tells this story while in drug rehabilitation again, after how many times, to finally kick her addiction and regain control over her life; because she does not want to have her child whom she is 3 months pregnant with addicted to drugs,also.
This story was very touching for many of us because we have seen the movies, read the story or know of a real life situation that fits this touching story-line.
We applaud Josie for her courage,her mother-in-law(Sadie) who was every one’s favorite; for her encouragement, for her devotion and the fierceness she demonstrated against her own son who is her only child. Sadie is celebrated for her unwavering love for Josie and her grandchildren throughout the entire story.
This is a very well written book about overcoming addictions and being empowered to challenge life’s hardships.
By Royal Ebony Readers, Reviewer: Tomi H.
Anita Ballard-Jones does it again. Be prepared to take an emotional roller-coaster ride with this novel. It will play over and over again in your mind long after you finish reading it. Our book club members could hardly wait to discuss it.
A very pregnant, Josey Whitman Taylor had fallen down several times. Finally she stood up again, but not without the help of her mother in law, Sadie, a private investigator, and her psychologist, Dr. Pearson. Sadie did everything she could to keep Josey away from her son, Sabur. He was a doctor of psychology, but he wasn’t the main cause of Josey’s down fall; he was the main contributor of the cocaine she craved. He was the cause of his daughter being born an addict and he continued to entice Josey with coke during her current pregnancy.
During Josey’s drug rehab treatment, Dr. Pearson had her go back into her past. During these sessions he discovered that the Whitman family had been faced with the insurmountable consequences of drug addiction; child abuse, neglect and endangerment, HIV/AIDS, death, poverty and psychosis. Eventually, one by one, they all fell down against the demands and challenges of everyday living. A few triumphed, but not without falling down first, and not without having narcotic to numb the pain.
We found this novel to be a collector’s item; one you may enjoy reading more than once. This book would be a blockbuster hit if made into a movie. We all agreed this was a truly unique and thought provoking read.
By Anu Shaheed Amazon VINE VOICE Reviewer
Wow, this book had me in complete awe, definitely different type of story-line. Josey and her siblings just been through it all. At times I had to put down…such a emotional roller-coaster. If I could give this book 20 stars I would. Great author! Her work just gets better and better, great job and well written story from Anita Ballard Jones.
By Carolyn McCray, Sister-In-Spirit Bookclub Reviewer
Another compelling story by Ms. Ballard Jones. Our book club read this book for our October meeting. It was an exciting book as are her other two books – especially “Rehoboth Road” and “The Weeping Willow”. In this book, Josey is a person that I loved and hated. This book brought tears to my eyes at times. I really could identify with her mother-in-law Sadie. I could not understand how the 2 most educated people in the book could be the most corrupt and vicious animals. Sadie realized that she had to make a choice between her grand-children’s future and her relationship with her only son. She chose to support Josey to get away from her son who was responsible for her drug addiction.
Anita did not disappoint in any way with this book and also was available to call in for our book club meeting. She told us that the book was inspired by a true story. Even though many conditions are covered in this book such as drug additions, depression, HIV/AIDS, infant drug addictions, and even murder; I was more impressed by the support that Sadie provided for Josey and her grandchildren. Everything Sadie did was to protect Josey from her son even though Josey had been through rehab about 5 times and continued to return to Sabur each time. That is dedication and stick-to-it-ness.
Please read these 3 books and support Anita. You will not be disappointed. The first 2 are sequels and this one is her latest. I ranked it #2 of the 3 with Rehoboth Road taking #1. We rated it 4.5 gold on a 4 point scale.
Purchase Ashes, Ashes, They All Fall Down by Anita Ballard-Jones
Link: http://amzn.com/0972945539
Author Anita Ballard-Jones 