The Book Imaginarium

NOTE: There has been much controversy to this book because it's known James Frey fabricated much of the story. HOWEVER...regardless if "fact" or "fiction", for anyone who has battled addiction or any seeming insurmountable problem, this is still a story of triumph and hopefully it can still bring a little hope for those still struggling.



Title: A Million Little Pieces
Author: James Frey
Publisher: Random House

The truth can set you free and redemption can come to anyone. There is nothing said and nothing done except suicide, that can not be redeemed. James Frey's brutally honest account of his personal reality with drugs, alcohol and rehabilitation shows that no matter how low you go.. you can always climb back up.

James Frey was a twenty three year old alcholoic that was also addicted to every major (and minor) drug you can think of. Meth, crack, weed, even glue to name a few. He was half dead and couldn't remember the last time actually being awake for an entire day. The book begins when he wakes up on an airplane with no recollection of how he got there and no idea where he's going. He's filthy, covered in sweat, vomit, urine, blood and dirt. He's missing four teeth, has a hole in one cheek, a broken nose and eye socket. At this point he doesn't even remember or know he's wanted in three states.

Two weeks prior he passed out and fell face down a fire escape. After a friend convices the authorities to let him contact James' parents he puts him on a plane for Chicago where they are waiting for him. Once he gets off the plane they travel to a rehab facility and check him in.

What follows is a detailed account of the two months he spent at the facility. He recounts with unparallelled honesty his battle to control his addiction (without the help of 12 steps), face dental surgery (without anesthesia) and regain control of his life. We meet friends he gets to know during his stay, like Leonard the Mobster, Miles the Judge, and Lilly the Broken. Each one suffers from chemical addiction but each deals with it differently and we feel for each one of them. Hating to see them fall, crying when they cry and cheering when they succeed.

It's about choices. Not the ones other people make for you but the ones you make for yourself. Everything in life is a matter of choice. How you wake up in the morning, go to bed at night, live your life, treat yourself and other people.. it's all about choice. We can be our own worst enemies or our own best friends.

Although I have never gotten involved in drugs, alcohol or addiction myself this book shows much more than how to recover from these demons. It shows the power of the human spirit and that no matter how deep the hole you fell into is... a ladder is always there waiting to show you the way out. All you have to do is be willing to reach out and grab it. You can't sit and wait for someone else to come along and rescue you. The climb is yours and yours alone to make. You have to want it.. you have to reach. James Frey reached for the ladder and he made his climb and when he got out of his hole he just kept climbing. He realized the ladder just keeps on going and where you stop and get off is up to each and everyone of us. You have to climb... hold on and climb.

Buy the Book
A Million Little Pieces - Publishers Page
Offical Website