A novel about addiction
It’s a story of a family disintegrating and having to rebuild
Its very well written and has a good ending

I liked the premise of this but that was about all, I couldn’t really connect with the plot or characters and this fell a little bit flat for me

Great plot to get yourself lost in. This book has everything. A real fast paced thriller. Will get your heart racing on more than one occasion. Very well written. Highly recommend this book

#Weekend Pass by # Paul Cavanagh is a Indie novel. Which has such depth for fewer than two hundred pages. A story about the lies we tell ourselves and the people we love.
Thank you for the advance copy,
#Netgalley, # Paul Cavanagh

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and it just wasn't for me. All "tell" and no "show." There are certainly points of the book that will be raw for anyone who has been impacted by addiction, but it could have been so much more powerful than it was with better storytelling.

This book was a compassionate yet unflinching account of addiction and what it can do to a family. Kavanagh pulls no punches in telling the tale of Tasha, a nurse with an addiction to opioids, who pays a steep price for her addiction and damages family members as well. It is a realistic portrayal of generations of a family, family dynamics and how alcoholism and addiction can be inherited, Many will find Tasha's actions as a mother horrifying yet I suspect they will also see the humanity in her. No one is as angry or hard on her as she is on herself. This was a quick and satisfying read and I found the conclusion to be just what it needed to be. Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for the free e-version of this book in exchange for an honest review. #weekendpass #paulkavanagh #netgalley #goodreads #bookstagrammer #bookreviewer #booksandmrdarcy #withhernosestuckinabook❤️📚

One moment and a series of choices can change the trajectory of your life. I feel that this describes the premise of this book. Tasha is facing up to her past and what her actions and choices have created on her first weekend pass during her treatment for addiction. During the interim, family members have to learn to deal with the situation at hand and to find a way to move forward. I thought that this author tackled this subject matter with expertise and with heart. I ended up feeling that this book was a good read, but kind of felt like it read like a back to school special. The characters fell a little flat for me and I was not drawn to them. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

EXCERPT: 'So here I am,' Tasha says. 'Back in the real world.'

'How does it feel,' Milt asks.

'The truth?'

Milt nods.

'Terrifying,' she says.

ABOUT 'WEEKEND PASS': Who can forgive a mother who poisons her eight-year-old son? Even if it was an accident.

Tasha thought she had everything under control – her family life, her career as a nurse – until her son got into her stash of painkillers. Now, during her first weekend home from drug treatment, she must come to grips with the damage she’s done and somehow pick up the pieces. Told from the points of view of four different family members, Weekend Pass is a story about the lies we tell ourselves and the people we love. And it’s about struggling to rise above the mistakes that threaten to define us.

MY THOUGHTS: The excerpt I have quoted from Weekend Pass comes from the end of the first chapter. Milt, Tasha's father, has collected her from the treatment centre for her first weekend pass since being admitted. I have worked with alcohol and drug addicts during my psychiatric nursing career, and this was a common emotion; the fear that being back in the same place with the same triggers will lead to a relapse. It is a perfectly justified fear. I thought I was in for an emotional roller coaster of a read.

Unfortunately, I don't think that this author's style of writing gets the full potential from this story. At the half way point I made this comment: 'Meh. I hope this improves soon. I am not enjoying being 'told' what is happening. I feel quite removed from the characters, and not really interested in them with the exception of Jake. Really only reading on to see what happens to him. Have started skimming as this is failing to hold my attention.'

There was plenty of potential here to play with. There are complex family relationships dealing with death, addiction, betrayal, guilt, denial, abandonment issues, and infidelity. There is drama when Jake goes missing (that piqued my interest and earned an extra half star). Yet the majority of the story is narrated in a plodding manner that left me bored and restless.

I admire what the author was trying to do. It didn't work for me. That doesn't mean it isn't going to work for you. Reading is a personal and subjective experience, and what appeals to one may not please another. So if you enjoyed the excerpt from Weekend Pass, and the plot outline appeals, please do go ahead and read it. Many other people have read and enjoyed Weekend Pass and rated it higher than I have. Please also check out their reviews.

I do love the cover.

⭐⭐.5

#WeekendPass #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Paul Cavanagh burst onto the international literary scene when he was crowned the world’s first Lit Idol at the London International Book Fair in the UK. The novel that won him the title, After Helen, was published by HarperCollinsCanada to glowing reviews. His deft touch for creating compelling characters comes in no small part from working for some 30 years in health care. He developed his literary talents at the Humber School for Writers and Western University. He currently lives in London, Ontario, Canada. (Goodreads.com)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Not That London Writer, IBPA, via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Weekend Pass by Paul Cavanagh for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Tasha has been in a rehab facility for three weeks for drug addiction when she is given a weekend pass. The question is, as expressed by her father Milt, whether “’she’s going to survive the weekend.’” She has to come to terms with the damage done to her family by her addiction. Her marriage to Baker is in tatters because their 8-year-old son Jake accidentally ingested some of her painkillers and may have permanent brain damage as a result. Tasha’s father Milt and her aunt Charlotte try to keep tabs on Tasha but some unforeseen events threaten to derail Tasha.

The book is not a challenging read; most readers will find it very readable. My issue with it is that there is a great deal of telling and not enough showing. For instance, we are told that Charlotte “has always been one for getting disgruntled on someone else’s behalf” and is “fond of taking on other people’s burdens.” Much of the narrative consists of flashbacks with paragraphs and paragraphs of exposition. Dialogue often doesn’t appear for pages. Though Tasha is the focus, the perspectives of Milt, Charlotte and Baker are also given. Each of these characters has a backstory which is developed.

The narrative often seems scattered and disorganized. Do we need to know that one of Tasha’s favourite foods is osso bucco and Jake’s is deep-fried squid tentacles and Milt’s is Cantonese steamed dumplings? Tasha’s having to deal with her mother’s alcoholism and her father’s infidelity have affected her so they are relevant, but is it necessary to give Milt’s thoughts about his marriage and to describe his attraction to young women? For example, when Milt meets a friend of his son-in-law, he thinks, “She’s exactly the kind of young woman Milt would have had a crush on at Jake’s age. Pretty, warm-hearted, and playful. He’s observed that much in the few seconds he’s laid eyes on her. Actually, Milt is plenty attracted to her now at the age fifty-eight. . . . If he were in Baker’s place, he’d be mightily tempted that’s for sure. . . . She reminds Milt a little of Josie, the woman he brought as his date to Tasha and Baker’s wedding, who shared his bed for nearly a year-and-a-half.” All this musing serves little purpose except to portray Milt as a lecher. Likewise, is it necessary to detail Charlotte’s rivalry with her sister, Tasha’s mother?

Occasionally, the writing style jars. There are sentences with slang like “he’d been shagging” and a woman wanting to “hurl garden stones at his melon.” Contrast these to the clinical description of a woman dying of cancer: “her left eye had stopped tracking to the left, meaning that her eyes sometimes pointed in different directions, a rather chilling spectacle. It was a sign that the cancer had likely spread to her sixth cranial nerve, maybe even her brain stem.”

In terms of its portrayal of a woman dealing with recovery from drug addiction, I think this novel is very realistic. It suggests that recovery is a long, difficult journey; one addict speaks of learning “to be thankful for what she has, even as she continues to grieve what she’s lost.” An important message is that addictions affect not just the addict; at one point, Tasha realizes “it’s not just her going through a kind of recovery.”

This novel is realistic and readable, but would be better if it were more focused. Because of its extensive use of local colour, it will definitely have interest to people living in London, Ontario.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

An intense story of of a family dealing with the disease of addiction and the impact on each of them. It is a disease that the weight of is not only borne by the addict, but everyone around them. There is always collateral damage. This well written deeply emotional story that delves into the experience of a family that is just beginning to the work together on how to move beyond, live with, integrate the disease, the hurt, disappointment, anger sadness into their lives and hopefully move beyond it to a healthier more meaningful life together and as individuals. It is an emotional read, particularly if you’ve ever dealt with this in any close up and personal way. I highly recommend this gentle loving book that will ultimately leave you hopeful.

This is not your typical addiction novel. Weekend Pass delves deep into the fissures addiction causes in a family as well as the soul of the addict.

The story takes place during Tasha’s first weekend away from rehab. In that one short weekend (and only 200 pages), we learn the past that caused Tasha’s life to fall apart. It covers a dysfunctional family upbringing, perfectionism, the nursing profession’s pressures, and so much more.

Most importantly, Tasha must learn how to overcome her addiction’s devastating damage to the people she loves the most.

This well-researched story pulls at your heartstrings as you watch a family disintegrate and begin to rebuild.

I love a good epilogue, and Weekend Pass ties up the story in a very realistic way.

The story touches on many difficult to read triggers; drug use, attempted suicide, child endangerment, mental breakdowns, etc. None of these topics are treated lightly and are the core of the story.

Thank you to iRead Book Tours and author Paul Cavanagh for access to an eARC of Weekend Pass in exchange for an honest review as part of my participation in the blog tour for this title. This has not swayed my opinion; my thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

Weekend Pass is the story of a family recovering from the fallout of one person’s addiction problem that exploded into a tragic case of collateral damage. Tasha got high, left something out where her young son could get it, and nothing has been the same since. The book’s title alludes to her weekend passes to leave the rehab facility she’s recovering at, specifically her first one. Her chances to go to a help group, try to get her life back, and try to rebuild the family she damaged.

This book is easy to read. It flies by in a flash and feels so real. So true. I may not have ever been an addict, but I’ve been in some pretty crap life situations, and I’ve known addicts. Everything about Tasha’s experience and how those around her respond rings true. Weekend Pass is a raw, honest look at this version of the human experience.

With that said, I wasn’t excited to continue reading when I had to put it down. It’s a good book while I’m reading it, but I didn’t miss it when I had to do something else. It didn’t call me back. If I had’t been reading this for a tour deadline, I might have taken a lot longer to getting around to finishing it. Please do keep in mind that I don’t think this will be everyone’s experience, as this isn’t my favourite genre. I do like to read a wide variety, and literary is always a comfortable place to look when I’m ready to mix things up, but my reading home is SFF where worldbuilding is required and there’s a lot of fantasy lore or hypothetical technologies to keep track of. This book is real-world, modern day, and doesn’t spend a lot of time setting the scene because it doesn’t need to. That means I need it to dive deep into just a couple heads or do interesting things with the narrative, and this book doesn’t. It’s very straight forward, chronological flow, dip into whichever mind has the plot point and dip out again. If that’s the sort of thing you like to read then this will be great.

Thanks again to everyone involved in allowing me to read this book. I’m calling this a 3.5 on my own blog because I can’t quite decide between “good or great,” but for sites with strict whole-star systems, I will gladly call it a 4. I would happily recommend this book to all fans of literary fiction and anyone looking for a raw and honest look at the road to recovery from addiction.

A compassionate novel about the impact of addiction and how this can echo through the generations. Tasha is a nurse and young mother with a prescription drug habit she thinks is under control until a terrible accident involving her young son sets off a sequence of events that ends with Tasha in rehab and unable to see her son unsupervised. This story of her first weekend trip home does a very good job of exploring family legacy (when it comes to relationships as well as addiction) and is much less bleak than the subject matter suggests it might be. It’s also relatively short (I read it in a day) and I would recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A shortish and fast read which explores addiction, the reasons behind it, the effects it has on the person and the family relationships and the often unintended complications that arise from a parent having a drug addiction.

The book ultimately shows that addicts and their families can get through this harrowing experience with love, acceptance, understanding and support.

This really quite readable and enjoyable novel tackles with insight and empathy the serious issue of addiction – whether to alcohol or drugs – and shows the ravages such addiction causes not only to the addict but to the wider family. Here we meet Tasha, who outwardly at least has a comfortable life with her husband and son. But there are demons in her past and eventually she succumbs to them and one dreadful night inadvertently and carelessly leaves something out which her son drinks. The fallout from this is as devastating as you might imagine and the book explores the aftermath. Guilt, responsibility, forgiveness, or the impossibility of forgiveness – all these issues are examined through four different perspectives and it’s an engaging and though-provoking novel. However I found the style rather flat, even plodding at times, with straight narrative (first this then that) rather than an attempt to really get inside the characters’ heads. So although I wanted to read on and find out how everything turns out I didn’t find it a particularly compelling read. Not a bad book, by any means, but overall somewhat uninspiring, with too much reliance on cliché and platitude.

This book was well written and definitely relatable to many people and for that I gabe it 3 STARS. It wasn't a great book in my opinion just ok.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Tasha went away to rehab to battle her addiction to painkillers. Her son Jake, who is eight found his mothers medicine which he took. This book delved into living with addiction and the affects it has on everyone.

This is a very good book about family relationships. From personal experience I can say that all families have complications but they are even more exaggerated when drugs, alcohol and infidelity are thrown in the mix.

Tasha is a young woman trying to come to grips with her mother’s alcoholism, her father’s infidelities and eventually her own escalating drug use. An accidental overdose by her young son almost jeopardizes his life and causes repercussions that she struggles to overcome.

The subject of accepting responsibility along with love, understanding and tolerance among the family members makes this book not only a great story but a lesson in forgiveness and moving forward.

Thank you netgalley and publishers for allowing me to read this book!

"Weekend Pass" explores the impact that addictions; secrets; and infidelity has on a family - and how sometimes, their impact can extend through generations.

This book was a fast and enjoyable read. While I related to some characters, I had serious problems really understanding the motivations behind certain actions. I feel the book would have been much more fullsome had it explored the START of some characters' addictions and their actual treatments.

Nevertheless, I want to thank both Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to enjoy this one. It provides some interesting perspectives on addiction and its affects.