Subject Abuse

I haven't read Jim Frey's "A Million Little Pieces", and up until yesterday I didn't even know it existed, despite being featured on Oprah, selling 1.77 million copies and having a big budget movie in the works. Beyond the statement that makes about my ability to keep up with all things musical and literary (and pop cultural, as well), the whole idea of this guy exaggerating his stories or just making them up to enhance his status as a hardcore substance abuser saddens me.

I'm making some substantial assumptions here, but I know a thing or two about this topic, and I have to assume that his schtick is wild stories of harrowing episodes of intoxication and confrontation as a learning experience into recovery. And that can be a moving tale of self discovery and life changing episodes and re-birth, as it were.

But if you're still making stuff up to embellish your reputation or market your life, chances are quite high you haven't made it through the whole recovery part just yet. And that, by my calculus, negates the whole point of the story. Is he a recovered writer, or just a junkie with a book and movie deal?