It’s not all happily ever after in new Jennifer Weiner novel All Fall Down

The American author doesn’t see social media and publicity tours as distractions from her work but as extensions of it, a continuing dialogue between herself and her fans.

The American author Jennifer Weiner. Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for Glamour / AFPc

When Jennifer Weiner first gave readings, she assumed about 12 people would show up, eight of them women she "knew from Weight Watchers". Weiner was working as a features reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer when she published her first novel Good In Bed in 2001. Soon after, she quit her newspaper job and has since written nine bestselling books.

The American author learnt long ago not just to make peace with fame, but to thrive on it, whether it was tweeting live updates about The Bachelor or fretting about what critics think of her. She doesn't see social media and publicity tours as distractions from her work but as extensions of it, a continuing dialogue between herself and her fans.

“They feel like they know me – and in a way they do,” said the 44-year-old author at a recent book reading in Manhattan. “A lot of times, I feel like I’m talking to a bunch of people I went to summer camp with.”

The author of such bestsellers as Goodnight Nobody and In Her Shoes spoke before about 100 fans eager to learn more about her new novel All Fall Down and to hear the latest from a woman whose stories are in some ways their stories.

They nodded in sympathy when Weiner, the mother of two children, spoke of adjusting her writing time to family life. They have followed her very public campaign to get more women reviewed in The New York Times and other newspapers and magazines and applauded when Weiner revealed that the Times, which had long ignored her work, would be praising All Fall Down.

“She’s very relatable, especially for young women,” said Shira Zeif, 32, a kindergarten teacher. “She gets very personal with her characters and you feel like you know her, too.”

As her followers on Twitter would have already learnt, Weiner has been in a good place. All Fall Down has received strong reviews, with her hometown paper The Philadelphia Inquirer calling it her best, and is in the top 40 on Amazon. The new book, Weiner explained, tells of a woman who seemingly has everything – a big house, a husband and daughter and growing fame as a blogger – yet finds herself increasingly unhappy, hooked on painkillers and is eventually forced to get clean at a rehabilitation centre.

It was a story so wrenching that Weiner dropped her usual happy resolutions for a more ambiguous ending. “You can’t pick up a newspaper or a magazine without the issue slapping you in the face,” said Weiner.

• All Fall Down (Atria Books) is available on Amazon and costs Dh60