"A Million Little Pieces"
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 261
"A Million Little Pieces"
I read this book...I thought it was excellent..I couldn't even put it down..Have any of you read this book yet? I know lots here probably have.. I haven't been on the website in a while...Just wanted to say this book is great!!! Way to go James!!! 
This book was so real!
This book was so real!
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 261
I wish I could've seen the interview...I don't want to give the book away, but when you read it, you really think James doesn't have a chance because he has a very negative mindset and he does come across as someone that won't make it..It's really interesting to read how the "addict" mind thinks..Enjoy the book if you buy it
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,513
I read the book and saw the Oprah interview. I actually started a thread elsewhere along the lines of 'James broke all the rules'. I felt like he wouldn't make it too. He had no belief in a Higher Power whatsoever, he went straight to a bar when he left rehab, he fell in love with a very vulnerable woman while in rehab and completely rejected AA. However, 13 years later, he is sober, married has a child and is now a very successful author. I was so impressed by James that I thought about him for weeks after I read the book.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in recovery. It is a tough read, but so worth it.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in recovery. It is a tough read, but so worth it.
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 261
Seeking Wisdom-Thanks! I'll have to check out that website.
51Anna-He definitely broke all the rules..I wouldn't recommend others doing what he did because he really was putting himself around temptation, which is like playing Russian roulette..After reading that book, I went out the next day and bought "My friend, Leonard"..
51Anna-He definitely broke all the rules..I wouldn't recommend others doing what he did because he really was putting himself around temptation, which is like playing Russian roulette..After reading that book, I went out the next day and bought "My friend, Leonard"..
To Life!
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 9,293
I finally finished it the other day.
I found it very difficult to read; had to put it down many, many times.
But, some things made a whole bunch of sense to me as a result of reading it, in regards to my son. The "more, more, more..." of any and everything! OMG! That's Trevor to a tee!
It's worth reading, IMHO. Even as difficult as it was for me, emotionally.
Shalom!
I found it very difficult to read; had to put it down many, many times.
But, some things made a whole bunch of sense to me as a result of reading it, in regards to my son. The "more, more, more..." of any and everything! OMG! That's Trevor to a tee!
It's worth reading, IMHO. Even as difficult as it was for me, emotionally.
Shalom!
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Alberta
Posts: 38
I just finished it as well. I found it incredibly disturbing in places but that's what made the book so real. You almost feel like you're there watching his life take place. I would highly recommend it.
How Important Is It?
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Cyberia
Posts: 612
I'm halfway through the book. I cried in places, and I even laughed at one scene he describes. It is a remarkably honest book.
It's helping me understand addictions better. I would recommend it to anyone.
I must say though, the author is not an easy person to like. He doesn't exactly go out of his way to make himself sympathetic.
Robin
It's helping me understand addictions better. I would recommend it to anyone.
I must say though, the author is not an easy person to like. He doesn't exactly go out of his way to make himself sympathetic.
Robin
How Important Is It?
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Cyberia
Posts: 612
I finished the book. The author is not a particularly likable person, but he is brutally honest. I learned a lot about addiction from the book. He shows us the cold, hard realities of addiction (and the terrifying statistics - only 15% will find recovery), but he also shows us the redeeming power of humanity and love.
I am troubled by his utter lack of spirituality. I am troubled by his complete rejection of the steps. I left organized religion long ago but I am comforted by a strong relationship with my higher power. It must be a cold, empty, cruel universe for him, to have no higher power.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has an alcoholic family member.
Robin
I am troubled by his utter lack of spirituality. I am troubled by his complete rejection of the steps. I left organized religion long ago but I am comforted by a strong relationship with my higher power. It must be a cold, empty, cruel universe for him, to have no higher power.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has an alcoholic family member.
Robin
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Arizona
Posts: 928
I read it last year (before Oprah put it on her book club) with a friend of mine in AA..We read it at the same time and discussed it..
Gave me alot of insight because my friend T - said he could relate to so much of what James Frey wrote..About hating himself, not being able to look at himself in the mirror..Really helped me understand the disease of alcoholism better.
Gave me alot of insight because my friend T - said he could relate to so much of what James Frey wrote..About hating himself, not being able to look at himself in the mirror..Really helped me understand the disease of alcoholism better.
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 782
I finished this book a couple weeks ago. Kind of gives one hope......if he can do it, anyone can. I don't think I would have put myself in the position he did when leaving recovery, but I guess he thought it was something he had to do.
How Important Is It?
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Cyberia
Posts: 612
Originally Posted by stormyautumn
Another issue I had with the author is his rejection the concept of powerlessness or a higher power, and how he claims to have been able to recover without them or the fellowship of AA. Yet he discovers Tao Te Ching and finds it a blueprint of how to live his life; he says it feeds him and makes him whole. I don't understand the difference he draws between living life according to a religion or living life according to a philosophy- to me they are two sides of the same coin.
But why do I get the undertone that "I'm stronger than most folks because I did this without believing all that crap about powerlessness and Steps?" The very last line in the book, where he is recounting what has happened to all the people portrayed in his book, reads "(The author) has never relapsed." I so want to add "yet" to that sentence, because his life story is not over yet.
It does drive home the point of personal responsibility, but also hammers away at the idea that an addict merely has to "choose" to use or not as if it were a novel concept in it's simplicity. Recovering addicts make that choice not to use/drink every single day and have been long before he was even born- what prompts an individual not to use today seems to be beside the point. I think this is a self-indulgent book.
Most of the recovering alcoholics I know who have a strong program of recovery are warm, joyful, and full of life. He didn't seem like a happy camper. Is it possible he is "white knuckling?"
I also wondered about how much artistic liscense he was taking with certain sections of the book... It's possible there were some embellishments.
Even so, the book presents a brutally honest picture of addiction and alcoholism. I would still recommend that people read it.
Robin
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