A Million Little Pieces

Despite what the world thinks, including my favourite Oprah, I still find "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey one of the most riveting books ever read. I found this book at Costco and from the moment I picked it up, Frey's account of his journey through drug addicted captivated me. It took me about two days to read his book and I left me in awe of his craft of writing such a true gritty account his life.

As the book made the Oprah Book Club, I felt proud to have read it along side Oprah but the main reason the book grabbed my interest was what propelled Mr. Frey into sobering up. I am sure it affected others, who like me have a family member who suffers from drug and/or alcohol abuse. I could never really understand why my brother chose to do drugs. I could not grasp what made him not get clean. "A Million Little Pieces" was my tour guide into the life that holds so many people hostage, including my brother, so despite Oprah's public scolding, James Frey still remains an excellent writer.

I loved his candour so much I purchase his next book "My Friend Leonard" and was not disappointed. But what I think does not matter in the literary arena or on the pages of public opinion and definitely not on Oprah. With this said, the public lashing Oprah did do on him was her way of getting redemption in the press for promoting a book that was not vetted properly by her staff or the publishers. In the end, James Frey paid the price like so many people did, even Oprah in her Texas beef lawsuit.

As "A Million Little Pieces" makes the headlines again, I hope that more people read it and come away with a better understanding of the personal struggles one goes through to come out on the other side clean. I am glad to see James Frey is still a great person and still writing.