Puggington

I'm halfway through this book, I've cried a few times, it's so relatable.

I bought this book at a thrift store almost a year ago, without hardly reading the cover, I just thought it looked interesting with sprinkles on the cover lol. It has only sat on the shelf since. Then I read on this site someone mention it and I jumped out of my seat, It felt like fate had brought it to me. So then I was compelled to put the words in my brain.

Has anyone else read it? Or is there any other book recommendations?

Soberwolf

I havnt read it but here is a great link to excellent books

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ependence.html

NoelleR

Y'all do know that book was found out to be a lie, right? a hoax! Total bull! Fiction! Poor Oprah; was she ever embarrassed.

(o:

FreeOwl

Yep, I was going to point this out, too.

It still stands as a powerful piece illustrating the awfulness of addiction - but it's a novel, not a true story.

FarToGo

I loved this book, fiction or no, a great book.

Dee74

I believe it was 'based on true events' - like Hollywood

It was a good read - but Stephen King nailed it from a recovery perspective for me

http://www.ew.com/article/2007/02/01...-little-pieces

D

Soberpotamus

I thought it was a good read, too.

NoelleR

Yes, it was based on true events, but those events were so exaggerated that they might as well have been made up. I would have liked the book had it been sold as fiction, but it wasn't; it was sold as autobiographical, and I'm sorry, it just plain wasn't.

He admitted to making small changes. I'm sorry, but changing being polite while being arrested for minor charges and being held for a few hours with minimal bail (the truth) to hitting a police officer with his car, while high on crack, which led to a violent melee with multiple officers and an 87-day jail sentence (what he wrote in the book). That's more than minor changes; that's fiction.

There are a lot of good, honestly written, books about addiction out there, but, for me, this is not one of them.

(o:

Dee74

I was being a little facetious Noelle

D

Austin4Wyo

Sarcasm on the internet? SURELY NOT!

I've read about half of it, and put it down. It's up in the library here at my aftercare/transitional program. If someone else takes something from it, excellent. I had to walk away from it because of my personal experience with inpatient treatments (two ninety-day programs, completed successfully), my work in the corrections field (where behavior that is described in the book would land you), and mental health issues (49 days in acute mental health hospital at my longest stretch) making it too far back and forth between credible and incredible.

The prose is also pretty woeful. Not certain what they thought they were adding by not using standard narrative formatting, but if anything, the no indentations, no quotations, poor punctuation format REALLY took away from my ability to follow the story.

Venecia

I'm with Noelle.

Actually, long before Frey finally admitted how much, ahem, liberty was taken in the book, a lot of questions were being raised where I live (Minnesota). There are better books out there.

That said, good for you, Puggington, for wanting to turn to books to help support your recovery. I think it can be helpful.

Puggington

I had no clue... I feel duped!! I feel betrayed! WTF FREY? Jerk!

Whatever... I might as well finish it, I am still interested lol. It keeps me busy, and busy is good. Idle minds don't do me any good. Thanks for the truth everyone!

Elseware

I read about half of this book and then put it down. It was too much for me. I read it when it was still being touted as a true story. It was just too awful. For one thing the story of the dental work with no anesthesia ( not even local? ) Come on. I couldn't believe it. That would be just plain torture. And I don't think just because you're a drug addict or an alcoholic society would make you suffer like that. At the time the book sort of scared me.