James Frey fabricated key elements of his said memoir, on his stint at some rehabilitation centre.
Things such as his description of how he had two root canals without any anesthetic or Novacane for the pain (couldn't help but have Frank Ocean sing that bit in my head as I typed). I admit, when I read Frey's dentist appointment description, I was like: "WHOOOOOAAAAAAT? This poor guy?!" But I kept reading cos re-living James' story of how he had practically fucked up his life and health was riveting. However, it is apparently possible for one to not have anything for the pain. James says the reason he didn't take anything for the grueling procedure was because he was in rehab and it's naturally prohibited for one to be taking drugs of any kind, while in a rehabilitation centre. So, I moved on from that apparent fabrication.
Then there was the matter of his so-called bad-boy status...which wasn't so bad-boy after all. Apparently, he may not have been arrested as many times as his memoir claimed and he also wasn't a menace to society in High School nor Tertiary. In his description, he was an "Alcoholic; Drug Addict and a Criminal". Yet, he managed to graduate from High School and Tertiary in record time. So it's either his rich parents paid off his head masters and faculty deans or, he wasn't that bad a drug addict during those times. He apparently only had a "less than a day" stint in jail for his Ohio encounter and not 90 days as described in the book.
That 90 days then brings me to the end of the book where he summarizes how all the characters in the book either died or fell off boats and their bodies were never recovered. All except one, his room mate "Miles Davis" who is/was a Judge. His best friend, Leonard, is said to have died from AIDS related illnesses and Lilly (his girlfriend, whom he met in rehab) hung herself the day before he was released from his "3 month" stint in jail.
It turns out that Lilly didn't in fact hang herself at the Halfway House that she stayed in after her stint in rehab. She instead slit her wrists. Granted, it doesn't matter what methods she took to end her life when she couldn't wait a few more hours for James. She killed herself. So then it becomes confusing as to how she waited 3 months for someone who was not in jail for 3 months. James says he was roaming around trying to piece his life together in all the time Lilly was waiting for him. *sigh*
Anyway, I could go on and on about all the other things that have been proven to be untrue, but I won't.
The only thing that has not been disputed is how drug and alcohol addiction fucks up people's health and lives. James' rejection of the AA program and its 12 steps and him choosing and managing to go "cold turkey" from his addictions has also gone undisputed. This is someone who had a drug problem and an alcoholism problem. He went cold turkey on his addictions and CHOSE to live without them. Almost 20 years on, he's still clean. Is this not what the book is essentially about?
He is a very creative writer. I marveled at his detailed memory of his drug and alcohol infested encounters and his days in rehab. I knew even then that this was not entirely a nonfiction read , but rather a series of events that were based on a true story.
My interests lay largely in the writing style and the going cold turkey bit. The rest, I really don't give a rat's ass about. This is a great book. The editing failed it in a few pages, but it's a good story.
James is clean. Almost 20 years after he walked/got chauffeured out of the rehab centre and has not relapsed. This has not been disputed. This is what makes the book a great part-fiction story. Cos the truth is that he was indeed a drug and alcohol addict. The truth is that his parents took him to rehab. The truth is that he rejected an old-age program whose followers swear by. The truth is that he has stayed clean.
What he did to fill the rest of his story, was just creative writing. I applaud him for that, and managing to sell 17 million copies of his book in 8 weeks, worldwide.
I applaud him mostly for choosing mind over matter.
Get this book for the message behind it and not for Oprah's and "The Smoking Gun" reports' holier than though take on the story.
