James Frey: Fraudulent Fictionating Fibber

James Frey, the author of the Oprah-endorsed memoir, "A Million Little Pieces" has been exposed by The Smoking Gun as a big fat liar.
i have been looking for an excuse to not finish this book. i didn't care for it much to start with, but now that i have learned that most of it is B.S., why bother? i don't care for people who lie, especially ones who lie for mass profit. i reckon i could read it as a work of fiction, but the book would have a distinctly foul flavor to it now. i would rather move on to the next book on my list in the hopes that it isn't full of crap, too.
Everyone that i know who read "A Million Little Pieces" raved about it, so i thought i'd give it a go. i hoped i'd be able to relate to some of his experiences going through rehab, and dealing with life afterwards. i was intrigued further when he wrote that he had the same creepy reservations about A.A. that i have, and that he, like me, manages to stay sober without the aid of some cult-like, quasi-religious, dogmatic bunch of over-sensitive whiners. Frey's notion of "hold on" when confronted with temptation is similar to my approach to sobriety, so i gotta give him props for that.
But as The Smoking Gun points out with extensive research, fact checks, and interviews with the author himself, he has pretty much taken us all for a ride. Good for him, i hope he enjoys his ill-gotten millions and he can just say "hold on" whenever guilt tempts his conscience.
i can't wait to hear what Oprah has to say about this. Maybe for his next appearance she and Dr. Phil can team up and encourage him to give some of his cash to someone (or some organization) more deserving. Or maybe Oprah will take him to task for "keeping" her "awake at night" for no reason.
Frey notes in his book (this part is true) that many addicts exchange one addiction for another. Apparently, he has exchanged the costly addiction of alcohol, crack, and inhalants with a highly profitable addiction to fabrications, exaggerations, and embellishments. And sadly, the American public is all too eager to shell out mass monies for the next lurid story of personal triumph over tragedy, however fictionated.
That being said, i want my money back. I spent $28 on two paperback editions of "Pieces." i still have one copy, the other i donated to my place of employment, thinking maybe someone here could learn from it, relate to it, or be inspired by it. i suppose its efficacy would not be entirely lost, if those who read it don't know that its full of crap, so i guess i just want $14 back, Mr. Frey (if that is you're real name), please and thank you.
Read the whole article about Frey's "fiction addiction" here.