I adored this memoir. Melissa has a way of sharing her experience in a way that makes it feel like readers are going through the whole ordeal along side with her, the raw gritty honest experience. This may hit closer to home for me as a read because I also experienced the western medicine tactic of push more drugs or a higher dose of the exact pill that is causing more harm than doing good. This is an excellent read for anyone who enjoyed My Brain On Fire, Girl Interrupted, and My Lovely Wife In The Psych Ward. I can't recommend this memoir enough and I will be buying my own copy after receiving this ARC for review.

Melissa Bond has written the heartfelt, honest story of her benzodiazepine experience with Ativan prescribed as a sleep aid by one of her doctors. Searching for a way to survive this life-changing actuality basically threatened her life, causing horrendous symptoms difficult to survive. I salute her for this honest piece of writing and her wish to help others in this position.

This book is important and highlights the dangers of prescription drugs- most specifically benzodiazepines. This is a voice to be heard and a conversation to be had. It doesn’t hurt that it is a memoir beautifully and emotionally written by a writer/poet. 5 stars, read this book. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc.

This book was an absolute pleasure to read. Anything by Melissa Bond is actually. I highly recommend this book.

The events of “Blood Orange Night” start during the recession of 2008 and 2009. Melissa Bond has two children back to back, she loses her beloved job as the editor of a magazine, and her marriage is disintegrating.

Bond begins experiencing dehabilitating insomnia. She is prescribed Ativan (a benzodiazapine) by “Dr. Amazing”, which she takes and that is initially effective and then not. Dr. Amazing increases the dosage. Bond begins having very bizarre, neurological symptoms, which she dismisses as part of the insomnia.

Eventually, Bond realizes the symptoms she is having are a result of benzodiazepine addiction. Benzodiazepines are highly-addictive and should only be prescribed for short-term use because of their addictive properties, and the difficulty in weaning patients off them. Without consulting an addictionologist, she reduces her dosage.

The memoir’s evocative title comes from the first night Bond reduces the medication. She hears her daughter crying in the middle of the night and runs downstairs. She puts her hands under her baby daughter’s body, and then experiences an intense explosion of blood orange colour and heat. She falls to the floor and can feel the carpet fibres against her face. She cannot speak, she can barely move, and she spends the entire night getting up.

Later, suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms, she discovers she had a stroke that night. Bond decides to title the book after the very violent, intense experience of cutting Ativan without the guidance of an addiction medicine physician.

Benzodiazepiens present a growing threat as they are easily accessible and overprescribed. The discontinuation of benzodiazepine drugs can cause seizures and even death.

Bond marries the lyrical poet part of her brain with the analytical, fact finding part of her brain. “Blood Orange Night” is a harrowing memoir about one woman’s descent into hell, and the year and a half it takes her to crawl out of it.

A huge thank you to @NetGalley, @GalleryBooks and @SimonSchusterCa.

This book is a true story about a woman who get prescribed benzodiazepines a concoction of multiple drugs like Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, Ativan by her doctor after she goes to him struggling with chronic insomnia. Melissa's life get thrown for a loop when her second child is born with down syndrome, and her whole world now revolves around caring for this new baby .After the birth of her second child Melissa is unable to sleep so she goes to the doctor for help and he prescribes her a multitude of pills. These pills can't be bad right she was prescribed them by a professional she wasn't getting them down a back alley somewhere. However this short term fix would soon become Melissa's downfall down a long road to hell. One of the things that I loved the most about this book was it
showed how quickly drug addiction can happen, even to a seemingly "normal" person. It was very sad to
listen to her struggle with something that was supposed to be easing her pain instead of causing it. This book is one that really makes you question everything and makes you rethink all of your own medial problems. Great read and I'm so glad that I got the chance to check this out. What I loved the most about this was it reminds you as a reader that only you can control your own body not your family or even your doctors and you have to advocate for yourself when needed.