A Million Little Pieces of My Friend Leonard

James Frey & Oprah

A few years ago, author James Frey made an appearance on Oprah. On the show, he took the heat from Oprah, her audience and the public about how factually honest his books, A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard were or were not. Many were disgusted and felt deceived, some bookstores pulled the books from the shelf in order to add an Editor's Note & Author Apology for the validity of the Memoir notation, a lawsuit settlement was reached for those who felt betrayed enough. (1,729 readers were refunded the price of the books). The Author was pretty disgraced. Shortly after his appearance on Oprah, I went and bought the books in spite of the controversy. The books sat on my shelf unread for about 3 years, not because of what happened on Oprah, but because the stories between the covers were too close to home at the time to read.

I chose to read a Million Little Pieces first. It seemed like a logical choice being that the story was about how James Frey met his friend, Leonard. The story takes you from the addict filled streets, to rehab, and eventually recovery from an addict's point of view. It tells of physical and emotion warfare and violence. It tells of institutionalization - rehab and jail.

I read the book as though it was a piece of fiction. I don't doubt that there are certain parts that are factual. I know the book had it's fictional points as well. (I haven't had to battle my own addiction with anything harder than cigarettes. But as someone who has watched other people in my life battle their own demons - Fictional, factual, or a combination of both - the pages of this story are real. It may not have been 100% James Frey's true story, it comes close enough to the addict in my life's reality. Drugs, violence, stolen money, time, and health, rehab and jail - I hope they reach recovery.)

After I finished A Million Little Pieces, I needed a break and read a book or two in between. About two weeks after finishing, I began My Friend Leonard. This book was a lot easier to read, it was less about the dark side of addiction and more about the light of recovery. It still tells of the struggle against addiction, but from a recovering addict's perspective - not a junkie's. The book tells of the relationship between Leonard and James, after rehab where they originally met. It takes you along for the journey from city to city, experience to experience. It was a good book, just as A Million Little Pieces had been, just less scary. The last ten pages took me half an hour to read because I was crying so much. It was a lovely tribute to a friend, that quite literally thought of the author as a son.

James Frey

If you feel the need to shun James Frey for not being entirely accurate in details, that's alright. If you read the book and feel the need for a refund, that's your prerogative. How many times have we all told a story and filled in the blanks with grandiose embellishments to make it a little more interesting. It may not happen to often, but how many times have you woken up and not remembered what you had done the night before... Only to be told, and how are you to know if the other person's recollection is 100% accurate. Mind you, none of us had the kahunas to put the story of our life in book form and pass it off as 100% true. (I agree, the disclaimer should have been in the book in the first place... It shouldn't have taken a huge scandalous Oprah presentation to get the truth out there.) All in all though, I am glad I bought and read both books. They are still well worth the read, and may be they should be used as an Anti-Drug campaign? Just a thought....

It's not always about me, and I am thankful it's not.