"A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey

[swimmernsecretsea]

AMLP is a memoir of when, at age 23, he awoke on an airplane, his eyes almost swollen shut, his four front teeth broken out of his mouth, a hole in his cheek he could fit two fingers through, and his clothes "covered with a colorful mixture of spit, snot, urine, vomit and blood" discovering that he is on his way to a stay in rehab. That part alone will probably make people run the other direction, but the most difficult parts of the book, at least for me, were the emotionally draining confessional moments he has, for instance, with his parents, and the moments when he truly seems lost. I think this book affected me because, to paraphrase a review, anyone who's ever felt broken by life at some point will understand what this author talks about.

He never blames his parents; in fact, he says they were victims of him. AMLP never follows the cliché version of this type of story. He rejects the basic philosophies of 12 step, preferring to shoulder the responsibility of his life on himself.

I encountered this book when I was in a bookstore in San Francisco. James Frey was featured on a magazine about writing for his new book, "My Friend Leonard." I remembered hearing about his earlier book and wanting to read that one, so I found it and bought it. Around the time I was finishing it, I found out that he was appearing in Berkeley for a reading/book signing. The images and emotions that I'd felt were still at the surface, since I'd only just finished reading it. He read from his new book, and then answered questions from the audience, which was overflowing with people who'd read his first book and been affected by it. He was sweeter and funnier than I expected, even more so since the persona he'd shown in AMLP was a tough, hardened criminal, a drug and alcohol abuser. Instead, he was vulnerable, soft-spoken, and honest, which is pretty damn brave, and strong.

This isn't like any book about addiction and recovery; it has that in it, yes, but it isn't about that. To me it's learning how to be strong and courageous in a completely different way from what most of us are think.

I don't know if anyone will read these books and be as affected as I was. I don't think of myself as anything like James. I haven't lived the type of life that he has, although I've had my life broken in many ways. I know there are some who'll turn away from it, disgusted by the graphic images, perhaps the writing style, even his method of recovering from addiction. I just need to bring something that has affected me in a positive way to others.





Information on his first book:
http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/0403/frey/
Information on his new book:
http://www.myfriendleonard.com/

[knowbody0]

1. thank you

i could use inspiration right now.