4th
“a million little pieces.”
I recently finished reading the memoir entitled “A Million Little Pieces,” by James Frey. The story is an account of Frey’s 13 year addiction to alcohol and drugs, folowed by his 6 week stay in rehab. Regardless of his cynicism towards Alcoholics Anonymous, the 12-Step Program provided by the rehab center, and life in general, Frey is able to overcome his demons and establish control of his substance dependence.
I found the story to be intriguing and quite refreshing, considering Frey’s blunt and stripped down style of writing. He was not afraid to admit his faults and to speak his mind, even if they were radical or utterly ridiculous. I have found that many authors today write in a style that is overly wordy and too flowery; Frey is to the point and does not try to circumvent his thoughts. In regards to his writing structure, he avoids the use of quotation marks and instead begins each quote with a new line. His thoughts and his conversations with others overlap with each other, creating a “stream of thought” style that accurately depicts Frey’s account of the situations. I found the style to be more realistic, since it was able to demonstrate his confusion and battle between the reality and his drug-induced fantasies. Frey’s description of himself, his beliefs, and his experiences was somewhat reminiscent of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, “Fight Club.”
The memoir received attention in 2005 when Opera deamed it as a member of the “Opera Book Club.” However, investigations of Frey’s story found that parts of the fiction book were fabricated. Opera brought Frey onto her show and verbally punished Frey for deceiving her. I have read many memoirs, and I know there are parts of them that are exaggerated or altered to create a more empowering story. For instance, I read a book entitled “Blackbird,” by Jennifer Lauck, that accounted her abusive and tumultuous childhood. Of course, it is impossible for a 4-year-old to remember all the details, if any, and accurately record these events 30 years later in a novel. I never expect memoirs to be completely fictional, and I thought that Opera was being too self-rightous in accusing Frey of publicly humiliating her. Give me a break.
Critics of Frey’s somewhat fabricated account of his life are missing the purpose of the book: it was meant to demonstrate the difficulties faced by drug and alcohol abusers, and to inspire other addicts to overcome their addictions. How can you possibly criticize someone for writing about the most difficult time in their life? You weren’t there, so how would you know.
