I read this book in four days straight, and that hasn't happened in a LONG time. Ironically, the book features insomnia, and I felt so compelled to read it, I felt like it was contributing to my own.

Melissa tells the story of a young mother suffering from sleepless nights. She has a young son with Down's syndrome and another infant on the way. As you might imagine, she's desperate for some sleep. Unfortunately, after Ambien stops working for her, she visits a new doctor (who markets himself under the auspices of integrative medicine) who prescribes Ativan which is part of a class of drugs called benzodiasapines. This class of drugs is highly physically addictive, and are also extremely difficult to kick because cold turkey is not an option.

Melissa relates the story of her addition in very raw, honest, and beautifully rendered language. Her clear intellect and incredible writing talent make you think "how does this happen?" And honestly, after reading it, I'm still not completely sure. But as Melissa becomes more and more trapped by these medications, her ability to parent and her husband's ability to tolerate the situation spiral ever downward. Her story is compelling, but I think it would be a mere footnote of another addict if she wasn't an A+ caliber writer. I felt her anguish every step of the way.

Thank you, NetGalley for the privilege of reading this intimate journey about Melissa Bond and her struggles to find her way out of addiction. Reading this book is riveting. It is as though I am traveling alongside her as she tries to care for her kids and simply have a night's rest.
Her story is so painful, as she loses her marriage and her job to the fact that she trusted her doctor who prescribed her medication. This is a warning to everyone, that you must do your own research and don't take every doctor's word without being versed in the problem yourself.
Her undoing is deep and ugly. She writes in a very matter-of-fact style, without feeling sorry for herself, and I think that is what truly saves her. She worked hard to get some of her life back, and she should feel very proud that she lived and can write an awesome book to celebrate her coming back

I have read many memoirs about substance abuse, mental health issues, etc and as a therapist, I am always struck with how hard people fight to live. Benzos are one of the most hideous withdrawals (could cause death, along with alcohol) and still are being prescribed on a regular basis. This will open your eyes!!!!

An absolutely stunning memoir about motherhood, insomnia, and addiction to benzodiazepines, told in fiery prose.

This book is a serious page-turner. Bond's writing is so honest and lyrical. When she was suffering from insomnia while pregnant with her second child, a doctor put Bond on Ambien. Then another doctor ("Dr. Amazing") put her on Ativan. This sent Bond into several years of a fog, followed by a year and a half of detox. I had no idea that benzodiazepines (Xanax, Klonopin, etc.) were so difficult to wean from, and they aren't effective after long-term periods of use. I felt deeply for Bond and was glad there was a postscript so I could learn about her life now. While I wish she hadn't been through such an experience, I'm so glad she wrote this book for those of us who need this information. I have a prescription for Klonopin that I use occasionally (smallest dose available) but I'm going to remember this and only use it if my panic attacks are at their most severe

A poetic, page turner of a memoir. The author wrote so eloquently of her addiction that I found this to be a compelling read. She shines a light on so many topics that appealed to me, pregnancy induced insomnia, the struggles of motherhood and feeling alone in the day to day, dismissal of women's health issues, raising a special needs child and of course the over or wrongly prescription of benzodiazepines. The author so bravely opened up about this struggle, sharing the brutality of recovery to the world and I believe that it will help so many.

Thank you Netgalley and Gallery Books for the ARC!

The author did an excellent job of showing the long term effects of benzodiazepines. Melissa came to drug addiction through a doctor’s prescription for insomnia. The “cure” became a years long hell mentally, physically and socially. It affected her life so adversely.
Insomnia ,after her child was born; become unbearable. I think everyone has had a night or two of little to no sleep and can relate to the dizzy, zombie-like feeling and this coupled with taking care of an infant creates a need for medical intervention for Melissa, the book’s author.
After several doctors, she finds an amazing doctor with a drug program of benzodiazepines. Finally some success and rest ! But soon the effects are minimized and dosage needs to be increased. A bit of research is eye opening on how tough withdrawal will be to get off of these meds. After a change of doctors, it becomes a process that takes many years to become drug free.
I enjoyed reading about Melissa’s family. Her husband, Sean, and their two children, Finch and Chloe. Finch
has Down Syndrome and took a bit more patience and Chloe was only a year younger so this mother had her hands full ! Her writing comes across as a very loving parent. I think the drugs affect her marriage to Sean and she writes about this with such honesty.
She is a brave, courageous woman who really tries to bring change in the way these drugs are irresponsibly prescribed without giving the patient the full picture of what the price may be. Getting her story on the news appears to be thwarted in many instances and doesn’t get aired even though it was filmed I hope many find this book to educate themselves about benzodiazepines.
Thank you NetGalley ,Galley Ebooks and author Melissa Bond for the chance to read this ARC for my honest review.

Well, I read this book in less than 24 hours so needless to say I was hooked. The author describes her experience with benzos after suffering from insomnia. As someone who has dealt with insomnia and also withdrawals (of opiates), the book is startlingly accurate. Despite myself formerly having a physical dependence to a different type of drug prescribed by a doctor, I related so much to her story, her feelings, her desperation, just all of it. It is truly a glimpse into what so many people around the world are facing daily, and really isn't talked about enough. I commend Melissa for her vulnerability in writing such an honest look at her life over the course of several years. A must read for anyone who has dealt with drug dependence, addiction, withdrawals or knows someone who has (and truly, we all know someone whether we realize it or not).
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Gallery Books for this ARC.

I really enjoyed reading Melissa's story and how she chronicled her pain and strength. My only critique is that it was a bit repetitive at times.

I really appreciate stories that educate the public on various medical cases, and when this memoir was compared to Brain on Fire (my favorite of all time), I knew I had to read it.

The first half of the book focuses on Melissa's pregnancy with her two children and the insomnia that came as a result. After nights of not sleeping, and being tolerant to the Ambient she was given by her doctor, Melissa was prescribed a high-dose of Ativan, and later Valium, to treat her insomnia. As she became dependent on these drugs, she noticed drastic changes in her body, such as hallucinations, blackouts and numbness. Being that very little research examined the long-term use of benzos, Melissa struggled to find a doctor to help cure her addiction. In the second half of the book, Melissa shared her quest to find a doctor skilled in benzo addiction and withdrawal. When she found a doctor, she recounted what she went through as she tapered off from the drugs. While not as big a of a role in the story, Melissa also shared how this affected her relationship with her family, friends, and career.

Overall, Melissa's writing was poetic and flowed effortlessly despite the topic not being light on the heart. Being a Speech-Language Pathologist, I immediately connected to her narrative with her son who has special needs. While she at first had little education or knowledge about children with Down's Syndrome, I loved witnessing how her perception of children with disabilities changed as she grew to lover her son and the special needs community.

I related to this book sooooo much. I was addicted to Ativan for 10 years. I was that mother battling addiction. And trying to get off of it was honestly the hardest thing I’ve ever had to endure. I hope this book can be eye opening for the readers. I wish the addiction to benzodiazepines was more talked about.

So grateful to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC.

Not my favourite book. I just couldn’t not connect with the author and her story. This story might be triggering for some as it deals with addiction. Not my cup of tea as I don’t think I as a 20 year old reader was the target audience.for this book.

How can a woman with insomnia end up addicted to a medication prescribed by her physician? It happens more often than we want to believe. Sleep-deprived with a special needs child, Melissa needs a good night's sleep and tries everything suggested or prescribed by her physicians. Before the birth of her second child, she has slipped into a pattern of sleepless nights, bizarre days, and broken relationships. When she finally figures out what is wrong she can't find a doctor to help her cure her physical addiction to benzodiazipines. Travel with Melissa through her multi-year story of non-believing doctors, an unsympathetic family, and children who need their mother to be well.

Melissa writes with description so well you can feel her pain, fear, and needs. You will root for her success even when she continually fails.

Was not a fan of this book. Yes, it sounds horrific to not be able to sleep for months and years on end, and getting addicted to pills that aren’t even working and are dangerous to get off is awful. However, I felt like the author didn’t write very nicely about her own children. Yes, at the time she was probably sleep deprived and on meds but after the fact? Also her husband sounded awful.

Oh and one more nitpick - from the beginning I was irritated by the idea that she thinks she got pregnant 2 weeks after the wedding and was able to test a week later. Pretty sure that’s not how it works, you can’t take a pregnancy test and have it be positive a week after doing the deed.

I received an ARC of, Blood Orange Night by, Melissa Bond. I felt bad for the children in this book. I found this book to be sad and depressing.

A beautifully written memoir of addiction. Melissa Bond's story is heartbreaking. The medical community has some questions to answer regarding her "treatment".

Melissa Bond is among other things, a very strong and courageous woman. In her book, Blood Orange Night, she battles against an addiction to Ativan all while bringing up her two children and hoping to save her marriage. It is a powerful read that takes readers into her life as a new mother, her nights of insomnia, and what it is like to be addicted to benzodiazepines.

Throughout the book, Bond details her agony and frustration as she tries to get help to end her addiction. She eventually finds a doctor to help her with her withdrawal and slowly gets her life together. Benzo addiction is a national epidemic and Bond brings its potency and dangers to the forefront.

Wow, this book! I am not an emotional person and I was tearing up at only the quarter-mark point of the story.

Melissa Bond’s acerbic retelling of her esoteric physical Hell of living in a broken human body that is mother to two other needy human bodies gripped me from page one.

I too have suffered from decades of idiopathic insomnia and *nobody* understands its origin or its mental and physical effect. I too have withdrawn from benzodiazepines and have marveled with dismay at the medical indifference to this potentially deadly experience.
“Cause and effect are harder to track because the horror is stealth. Instead of a fire burning your house down [as with the opioid crisis], benzos are the thief that steals everything you own a piece at a time,” writes Bond.

Bond and “Dr. Amazing,” who introduced Ativan to her, were blind to the inevitable fact that with his prescription, ever-increasing in dosage, the doctor was trading one physical and mental torture for another: insomnia and anxiety for potentially deadly physical dependence. In fact, as the author shows of her ordeal, benzodiazepine users are trapped into withdrawal symptoms before attempting to actually withdraw from the drugs - that is how Boyd innocently became a substance prisoner.
Her prescriber was conveniently casual.

Bond’s piercing intelligence somehow remains intact as it cuts painfully cognitive words into these pages of her (and many afflicted others’) existence.

So grateful to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC.

Blood Orange Night by Melissa Bond is a harrowing, compelling, emotionally-resonant memoir that will stay with me for a very, very long time. The author is a mother who became addicted to prescription benzodiazepine while battling insomnia and depression and postpartum psychosis. And now she is battling that addiction. Highly recommend reading her story!

This is the saga of a harried mother's dependence on benzodiazepines. When Melissa is pregnant with her first child, she begins to be unable to sleep at night- at all. Maybe 1 or 2 hours a night. After enduring this, she is prescribed Ambien, a sleep aid. This is effective for a short time, but loses potency quickly.

During her pregnancy with her 2nd child, her sleeplessness intensifies, and she is prescribed Ativan, a benzodiazapine, in large quantities, with increased potency and many refills. She quickly becomes addicted. The second half of the book is her quest to find doctors skilled in benzo addiction, withdrawal, and detox. She begins to taper the Ativan, and begins a very slow detox that takes over a year.

Her relationship with her husband and children are not major topics of the book, although they are the reason she endures the ravages of withdrawal and remains committed to overcoming her addiction.