Outside Reading Book Review

              Even though most of us aren’t facing multiple drug addictions and being a criminal we are still able to connect to James Frey in A Million Little Pieces. Frey is able to pull you into his complex mind of addiction and depict his tedious and torturous tenure at a rehabilitation center. It is a riveting book that makes it seem as if you are living the events with him. Frey’s outstanding will power and determination to try and fight his profound addiction is something that all can learn from. Despite the fact that Frey later informed his avid readers that his book was not entirely truthful, it was still a great tale of struggle and friendship.

After a dozen years of blacking out every night, James Frey decides for the first time to

go to a rehab center. His need for rehab is summed up when by saying

“Started stealing sips from drinks at seven. Got hammered for the first time at ten. Vomited from abuse for the first time at ten. Smoked dope at twelve. By thirteen was smoking and drinking regularly. Blacked out for the first time at fourteen. At fifteen got arrested three times… At fifteen tried cocaine, acid and crystal meth for the first time. Got arrested three more times at sixteen. Started drinking and doing drugs before school. Started selling liquor and drugs to his fellow students. Blacked out and vomited regularly… He is survived by no one. His family had written him off, his friends had written him off.”, yet this trend got progressively worse as he got older, and continued until he went to rehab at 23.

Frey shows that fighting addiction is not an easy task. Especially since friends are hard to come by for him due to his cantankerous and confrontational personality. However he is befriended by a leader in organized crime, Leonard, who has many insightful experiences and is able to give Frey advice such as “Be smart, be proud, live honorable and with dignity, and just hold on.” In many ways Leonard becomes James’ guardian and mentor, over their stay they become the best of friends. Also James is able to find a girl, Lilly, whom makes him feel very comfortable and they begin to love each other, even though co-ed relationships are banned. They bond due to the similarities in their life; they are both very messed up people with even worse experiences. One of James’ reoccurring issues is that he is unable to look at himself, he cannot look into his own eyes due to the many horrible and atrocious things that he has done. His most prominent issue is that of dealing with “the Fury” which as he describes as hatred, anger, rage, and need for drugs and alcohol. In the beginning he is completely defenseless to “the Fury” and is under its control, however as he stays there he is able to cope and suppress is with things such as, a simple book, The Tao, talking to Lilly and his friends, or simply taking a walk outside and appreciating everything around him.

            Frey uses a lot of metaphors and repetition in order for his readers to understand the demands and struggles that occur in rehab. For example he describes just another morning of the same sickness as,

“It’s still dark when my body wakes up. My insides burn and feel like fire. They move and the pain comes. They move again and the pain becomes greater. They move again and I’m paralyzed…My body lurches and I close my eyes and I lean forward. Blood Bile and chunks of my stomach come pouring from my mouth and my nose. It gets stuck in my throat, in my nostrils, in what remains of my teeth. Again it comes, again it comes, again it comes.”

This quote encompasses his writing style and really pulls you and makes you feel as if you are hunched over the toilet with him. His descriptive language allows one to feel his pain and truly understand his pain and suffering despite the fact that most of us haven’t and will never experience such sever pain and emotions. Frey also employ’s flashbacks in order to describe all of the previous women that he has ever been close to. For example he flashes back to when he moved into a new neighborhood as a child, and how he was bullied and had no friends. One day though he was befriended by one of the most popular girls in school, over a few months they became the best of friends and did everything together. However unfortunately one day while driving in a car with some boy, she was hit by a train and killed. Frey feels that such events are the epitome of his life, and anything that can go wrong. Will go wrong, which can be partially credited to his current state.

            I thought that this was an excellent book that really entailed and explained the horrors of addiction. As well as the thought process of somebody who is extremely messed up. It was an enthralling tale that can be read in one sitting. I would recommend this book to everyone who has ever faced hard times or been in need of a friend. Frey puts his life into perspective and is able to connect to the things that actually matter, which is something that anybody and everybody can do and has had to deal with.