A Million Little Pieces

Rating:
Summary: A frightening glimpse into the darkest side of self-loathing
Review: A frightening glimpse into the darkest side of self-loathing and self abuse. In simple, unadorned language Frey recounts his time spent at a rehab clinic recovering from crack-cocaine and heavy drug addiction. The stories are nightmarish - in raw language Frey probes the perimeters of his pitch black womb of suffering. A lifelong victim of his own propensity toward the self-destructive common in young adults, the author recalls how he had to decide how to turn over a new leaf and put the pieces of his life back together. The prose can be frustratingly jumbled and repetitive at times, but the gravity of the subject matter carries the story along in addition to an uncertain romantic relationship Frey has in the hospital with a girl called Lily. A Million Little Pieces is tear envoking and will make you think twice before ever feeling sorry for yourself again.

Rating:
Summary: Remarkable Journey
Review: A good friend lent me this book, and once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. For anyone who has battled with any personal demons, the inner dialogues are familar and dramatic, although I have never before seen them so accurately portrayed. It is a remarkable story, and I am grateful my friend shared this fine book with me. As I read over some of the more negative reviews, I wondered which book those folks read. I dare say their criticism told me more about their own personal issues than about this book. I wish them courage.

Rating:
Summary: A must read for families of addicts--and others
Review: Although it was incredibly difficult to get through James Frey's vivid descriptions of his experiences before and during rehab, I couldn't put this book down. It helped me understand the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of my family member who is an addict and who has been in an in-patient rehab center in a way that I never thought would be possible. It also helped me understand how those in rehab can perceive and react to loving family members who want to visit, help, and make things better. I'm sure that family members of addicts and addicts will not be the only ones to appreciate this great book. Book clubs and the general reader will also love this book because it is so well-written, creatively formatted to match the tone, brutal in its honesty, and written by someone with incredible strength of character.

Sheryl Gurrentz, Author
"If Your Child is Bipolar"
"The Guilt Free Guide to Your New Life as a Mom"

Rating:
Summary: Deeply moving, honest, harrowing...
Review: As someone who has a close relative in recovery, I have read many addiction memoirs. Frey's book is the best in this genre I have encountered. His writing style is unique, with conventions of indentation, capitalization, and grammar thrown out the window. As a compulsive copy-editor, I initially found his writing off-putting and somewhat pretentious. But the story he was telling was so gripping, and the pain he went through communicated so compellingly, that I stuck with it. I am glad that I did, for after a few chapters I didn't even notice his unconventional style; I simply heard his voice instead.

Frey had the good fortune to receive the best of the best: inpatient treatment at the rehab center with the highest success rate in treating addiction in the world. That this success rate is only 17% sobriety after one year is disturbing evidence of the intractable and self-destructive nature of addiction. Perhaps the most intriguing part of Frey's story is that he is, apparently, one of the VERY few individuals who has been able to stay clean without working the Twelve Steps. As an atheist, Frey could not bring himself to believe in the Higher Power that is the cornerstone of the Twelve Step approach. He achieved serenity instead by concentrating on principles of acceptance: acceptance of who he was, his anger toward his family, the wrongs he had committed during his long years of alcohol and drug abuse, and his responsibility for those wrongdoings. The book ends with Frey leaving the rehab center to carry out a jail sentence he had been avoiding. This book could therefore serve as inspiration to other addicts who have similar difficulties accepting the fundamental assumptions of the 12 steps...but the flip side of the coin is that the book could possibly have the unintentional effect of discouraging some addicts from following the 12 Steps ("hey, if Frey stayed clean without them, so can I"), which would be unfortunate given that the 12 Step approach thus far IS the best documented treatment for addiction.

Although the jacket material does not specify exactly when, this book was evidently published some years after Frey's experience at the Clinic. Because the book is so richly detailed, with many conversations reported verbatim, Frey either kept a highly detailed journal during his time there (which he does not mention doing), or a certain amount of what is described is being reconstructed after the fact. So it is not clear to me how much of what is portrayed "really" happened the way he describes, but in a very real sense, it doesn't matter. Any addict or alcoholic will recognize the genuineness of the emotions and events portrayed here.

Frey's book also highlights one of the truisms of addiction, which is that it strikes people from all walks of life. Frey describes a delightful variety of characters, from federal judges and professors to unemployed high school dropouts. Perhaps the saddest part of the book was the very end, where Frey updates readers on how all the patients he described are doing now.

I recommend this book for anybody who has ever faced the challenge of recovery from a drug or alcohol addiction, and for anybody who has ever loved such a person. It is not a book you can read without being unaffected. Frey narrates his actions and feelings in a honest, unflinching style that makes it at times painful to read, but ultimately fulfilling. I have nothing but the greatest admiration for his decision to choose recovery and the strength he had to display to achieve it, and the literary world has benefitted as a result.

Rating:
Summary: Not good
Review: Being an alcoholic/addict myself, i found this book to be a huge disservice to recovering people or people who'd like recover. Why? Because its filled with the typical egocentric, self-important, pseudointellectual ramblings of an addict. There is no humility in it which is essential to recovery, in my opionion.

I wonder what the point was in publishing it. Who is it supposed to help? Who benefits? I didn't need another depressing story.

Despite his claimed horrific alcoholic/drug experiences, Frey proposes a recovery plan of self-will/knowledge; not believing in God or AA for some odd reason. Eventhough, it is evident that AA principles are working for him while in treatment, he choses instead to look for answers in his own messed up thoughts. Thoughts which he even admits are defective (the Fury). - Good plan, James.

Frey, not able to see that the essential help he receives in his recovery is from simple people with a simple belief system must look to the Tao for answers. I am sure he is sincere, though, and it makes perfect sense in his own mind.

I really wish him the best of luck in his recovery or revelation, whatever the case may be, but I wonder of the effectiveness of his plan when I see in the final analysis that the people in his life that were so important to him die or are incarcerated. If your insight was so profound why not share with those who are supposedly your 'friends'.

No, this book should be avoided at ALL costs by the addict/alcoholic. It is a troubling, pernicious work of literature. Instead pick up the AA related literature if you want knowledge and/or real help with this disease. It is not something to be reasoned out of as proposed in 'A million little pieces".



Rating:
Summary: Still feeling this book
Review: Having known all too many people like Frey, this book really hit me like a hammer. I mean, it really is a harrowing piece of work. Like the drugs catalogued within, this book squirts you between highs and lows so fast that it's really hard to handle at times.

First, one reviewer calls the tone "sentimental" at times, as though it were a bad thing. Granted, usually it is. But here, it works. the book draws on Humanity (with a capital H) on the micro level. People going beyond these horrible things they've done, the horrible things they've had done to them, the rotten lives they've led, to basically find each other's humanness. That really sounds stupid and new-agey, but the book is swimming in this kind of stuff and there isn't one time when it seems contrived or is ineffective. (And it may be the most convincing book about Men I've read.)

And Frey's attitude toward addiction is something out of the ordinary too. in his recovery, i loved his rejection of the group mind in favor of the solipsistic vision he follows. he may be the only guy this works for, but it really seemed like he knew himself and knew how to recover.

Read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Addiction is a CHOICE, and Frey readily admits it.
Review: I do not believe in addiction. I believe we all make choices every day on how we want to live. I am not saying it is not a condition, but it is still a conscious choice. We all wake up everyday and choice what we want to be. Some people choose a job and a stable life, and some choose drugs and alcohol.

That being, said, I really like this book. The writing is unique and interesting and really drives the point home.

An overall great read.

Rating:
Summary: frey's little dentist chair
Review: i've never been addicted to crack, but after reading "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey, my body felt addicted...addicted to something. like a teenage boy afraid of being discovered by his mother while reading a porno magazine, the second i finished AMLP it left my hands. i didn't want to touch it ever again, but something within Frey's words kept my mind thinking about the book. the pace with which Frey tells his harrowing life tale of a 13 year addiction to alcohol and other drugs acts like nitrous oxide while you sit in his dentist chair. that part i'm not kidding about. your stomach will turn, body ache, and face contort as you read this book. but never in one second will you think about putting it down. you might take breaks just as a dentist would to ease the pain, but the satisfaction of finishing this book is like no other. it's a happy ending for one, but not for others and you can bet that the next time you look at yourself in the mirror it will be with honest eyes.

Rating:
Summary: Unflinching reflection on addiction and recovery.
Review: James Frey is a unique voice with 'Million Little Pieces', and his unflinching look at addiction and recovery is both refreshing and intriguing. On one hand, Frey is a cocky guy who is very stubborn and unlikable. On the other hand, it is that unwavering stubbornness that probably saved his life in the end. I found his reflections on the 12-step program and the "higher power" to be a very refreshing take on the standard addiction/recovery story. Sure, we've all probably read several stories of drug/alcohol addiction and self-destruction that give way to recovery and ultimately redemption...but rarely have we ever heard it told in a voice like Frey's. This book hooked me early on with it's gritty and sometimes brutal dialog, and kept me coming back for more until I finished it over the course of a weekend. Highly recommended for anybody that may be remotely interested in this subject matter, or who may know someone that is involved in the world of addiction/recovery.

Rating:
Summary: This Book Rocks. Period.
Review: Not being as eliquent with words as James Frey is, I struggle to communicate how this book has impacted my life. There is something about it. It is intriguing. It captures you from the very beginning, and I am easily distracted. The writing format keeps you interested along with what is being said. This gives NOTHING away, but he describes drinking coffee in this book to the extent that I ALWAYS think about his description everytime I have a cup of hot coffee - which is every morning. So I think about this book every morning. I don't struggle with addiction. I, of course, know people who do or have. It is just a fabulous book that really changed me. I love this book. Absolutely love it. Will read it again. But am letting it marinate for a while. Please read it. It will move you.