when james frey was first on oprah
i found it unbelievable that he could be so calm, callous and cold about the "addiction" lifestyle he lived and how it tore through his family like a tornado... deciding that oprah perhaps saw something i didn't i ordered the book. i too could not put it down. reading gave better insight to what the man was about. not suffering from addiction is a gift to me in my life. however; having a father who is an addict and several people whom i care deeply about gave me motivation to stick with the story... WHY do they act the way they do? what drives them...
and yes the LIES. you see that is integral to addicts. they don't know how to tell the truth because the "sin" of addiction is denial. not being able to deal honestly with life or anyone for that matter. it appears that the addiction in james frey life is not yet healed. in fact the lies he was confronted with is still part of the process of breaking down the denial. until he is truly "busted" from that, i imagine none of his life will ever be true.
i don't say that he is wrong to have written and marketed the book that way it was done. I just challenge him to actually put into practice the TWELVE STEPS that he so disdained. I agree that the program suffers greatly from addicts switching from substance to support groups .
The heart of the matter of the steps is walking straight from substance but dealing with life and finally becoming HONEST enough to work on oneself as well as fixing broken relationships.
there is nothing worse than an addict lying to those around them to feed their intense, compulsive/obsessive behaviors no matter the cost. wait... in fact, there is something worse. someone who puts down the substance and never quits lying. who never comes clean with the sickening manipulations and false faces they show everyone because of the addiction never being totally CLEANED OUT...
I have great respect that james frey sat through Oprah's "skewering" as it's been called. I wouldn't have wanted to sit in that seat for all the money TV could offer. yet, he did. maybe he will indeed find a cleansing that forever changes his life...
i always did think that memoirs were slightly "fictional" so much of the hoopla seems out of place in light of the fact that the NEW YORK TIMES was so critical when indeed they themselves have been EMBARRASSED by the same deceit of other writers.....
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