Guest Opinion Guest Opinion (January 20, 2006)

Too bad to be true
by Kathy Cordova

As I read James Frey's bestselling memoir, "A Million Little Pieces," my overwhelming reaction was "I can't believe this really happened!"

From the first page, where an unconscious, blood, vomit, and urine-covered Frey wakes up on a commercial airline flight, to his double root canal without anesthesia, to his victory over gut-wrenching addiction through sheer willpower, I thought, "Wow! Truth really is stranger than fiction."

Except in this case, it was not.

Last week, the Smoking Gun Web site (www.smokinggun.com) published an investigation that revealed Frey lied, significantly and outrageously, about many of the elements central to his book.

Frey's publisher and Oprah Winfrey, whose book club raves catapulted "A Million Little Pieces" to best-seller superstardom, stand by the author, professing that the power of his story is more important than its veracity. Frey didn't deny alleged fabrications on Larry King Live, instead defending his work by reiterating that the book is about "emotional truth."

So what's the big deal? We know writers make stuff up. They are rewarded and celebrated for that talent.

Except that writers who make stuff up are called novelists and their books are labeled as fiction.

Frey's book was marketed and sold as a non-fiction memoir.

Memoirists are permitted some leeway in their telling since memories and perceptions are subjective. They may recreate conversations or write about events in a way that builds a narrative arc. Memoirists employ the techniques of fiction to tell the truth in a compelling way.

Truth is the power and the obligation of a memoir. The facts in question are not faulty memories or literary embellishments; they are lies.

Frey initially tried to sell this book as fiction and was rejected by 17 publishers. The 18th would only agree to publish it as a memoir, a "hotter" genre that lends itself better to publicity than first novels by unknown writers. So Doubleday and Frey relabeled that very same "novel" as a "memoir," and packaged it like a new soft drink, complete with interviews of a tough-talking Frey who egregiously perpetuated the lies to promote his book.

But books are not merely products to be marketed with fake sizzle. Books have the power to touch hearts and to change lives. There is a sacred trust between readers and writers, and Frey and his publisher have deliberately violated that trust for their own financial gain. "A Million Little Pieces" has sold over 3.5 million copies because it was represented as a raw, honest, heartbreakingly true story.

As a reader, I feel deceived and betrayed. I can only wonder how much greater the injury will be to all the alcoholics and addicts who were inspired by Frey's message of the power of sheer will versus established 12-step programs.

Frey, who insists his drug and alcohol addiction is an established fact, unwittingly summed up his own transgressions in his televised appearance with Oprah. He was ostensibly talking about addiction to drugs and alcohol, but he could have just as easily have been describing his deceptions in pursuit of literary success.

"You need something. You have to have it. Nothing else matters. You're addicted to something and it doesn't matter if you hurt someone. . . . All you have to do is get what you need." - Kathy Cordova is a frequent contributor to the Pleasanton Weekly and is the author of the non-fiction book, "Let Go, Let Miracles Happen: The Art of Spiritual Surrender." She also hosts "In a Word" on community television TV30.

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