STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

member · Hermes

A Million Little Pieces

laken1 · Hermes

No, i haven't but I am curious as well. I am about 50/50 on Oprah's book club books - usually i love them or hate them, no in between. Sorry I'm no help, but wanted you to know you aren't alone

member · Hermes

Well I just bought it tonight at Target laken1, so I'll let you know how I like it.

laken1 · Hermes

So did you read it yet? How was / is it?

Tati · Chanel

im really curious too, Oprah wont stop talking about it and im usually no into the books she picks.......

member · Hermes

Sorry girls, my boyfriend is reading it first! As soon as I am done, I'll post a review.

manhattanmonkey · Kenneth Cole

I'm reading it!!

Actually I'm about half through it and might be taking a break to read a sequel to a book a got for my birthday but anyway.....

I think it is very good. Lots of profanity - especially the f-word. I think it's really opened my eyes to drug and alcohol addicts and has made me realize that there are reasons people have addictions and why it's hard to get over them.

Some of it is very real - there is no sugar coating anything and it's very frank.

Any questions?

ejc423 · Coach

I just got my hands on my friend's copy. She hates reading and said she couldn't put this one down. Anyway, I hope to read it within a week or so. We should discuss.

jettie · Kate Spade

I'm reading it! I had heard about it on Oprah so when I had a long flight, I decided to pick it up for the plane ride and I couldn't put it down the entire flight! Its very good, definitely a page turner. The entire books is very raw...its amazing what addiction can do to a person.

jen · Kate Spade

He's on Oprah right now. It seems to be an average story. I mean, yeah, the whole plane thing with him bleeding is extreme but how is this different than any other drug addiction story? Oprah's acting like it's so amazing, I could proabably write something similar about my experiences. I think she should go back to the classics...

member · Hermes

ejc423 wrote:

I just got my hands on my friend's copy. She hates reading and said she couldn't put this one down. Anyway, I hope to read it within a week or so. We should discuss.

I agree - we definitely should discuss once we've all finished w/the book - great idea!

blink · Coach

jen wrote:

He's on Oprah right now. It seems to be an average story. I mean, yeah, the whole plane thing with him bleeding is extreme but how is this different than any other drug addiction story? Oprah's acting like it's so amazing, I could proabably write something similar about my experiences. I think she should go back to the classics...

I sort of agree that it seems like an average story, but only to those of us who have been exposed to this sub culture. I was never a user, but I fully integrated when I was in high school because my boyfriend was a professional foosball player and this game, usually played at billiard halls, seem to attract these raging types. I met tons of tweaking, crazy, law breaking kids and even scary and unpredictable adults in their 40's, all were just like Frey describes himself, it was really a sad phenomenon and I assume most of them never recovered from their addictions. Since I haven't been around these people in over 13 years, I have NEVER witnessed life like that again but I know it exists on the edges of every corner I walk, so NO, this really isn't an average story for the better side of society.. I am SO glad that this is getting so much attention, people who haven't known these kinds of people personally will finally have a window into this different side of life.

So I haven't bought the book yet, but I kind of like that Frey found an alternative to AA, it's refreshing to think that an addict doesn't have to fit their mold to recover.

-- Edited by lorelei at 11:59, 2005-10-27

jen · Kate Spade

Well, I think a lot of people in "the better part of society" have experienced drug use. I'm not a part of a bad society and I've experienced it. This book, while I'm sure is good, just does not seem to be as great as the media describes it. If it was not Oprah's book, I bet a lot less people would be reading it. It seems as though lots of books are on addiction and there's nothing new here. I guess that's just how the media works...

-- Edited by jen at 19:20, 2005-10-27

blink · Coach

my mistake Jen, being high all the time and then getting arrested dozens of times, dealing, and breaking into homes and cars and nearly dying multiple times is not so bad or unusual, and lots of people in the better part of society have experience with this.

I couldn't resist the sarcasm here, sorry, but you must have either missed the extremity of his story or missed my point altogether. And in the Oprah interview, even Frey is so humble and quick to point out that he was a very bad person then.

jen · Kate Spade

Lorelei, I'm not trying to argue with you about this. I just think there are many books about the same thing out there. My confusion comes when I try to reason why this particular book is gaining so much attention. That's all. Ta-da.

shopgirl · Kenneth Cole

I am halfway through and will read all the posts and share my thoughts in a couple of days when I'm done.

Deborah

Maddie · Coach

I'm about a month late on this, but I just finished it and really liked it. I had stayed away from it because I'm usually too snobby for Oprah's books, but I thought it was great.

I think that this book does deserve attention and his story defintely is different than most. I think I have a fair amount of experience with addiction and I've never known anyone with a story as extreme as his. I don't know what he talked about on Oprah, but he did some horrible stuff. I also don't think that a book needs to have an extreme story to attract attention. What if he had just been rich kid addicted to coke? So what? If he'd written the same book about that, I think I would've found it equally compelling. I think it's kind of ridiculous to measure how important a person's story is in terms of how horrible it is. Addiction is addiction. If some prep school kid had written this same book about their coke addiction I would've found it equally compelling.

What was so great I felt was the complete honesty he wrote with. He didn't hold back anything. Also, the writing style contributed to really being able to feel what he was going through. I've personally never read anything or seen any movie that I felt captured addiction as well as this did. Also, how he treated himself his own way instead of following the twelve steps was really interesting. I don't think this is amazing literature or anything, but I think it's a worthwhile read, particularly for anyone who knows someone dealing with addiction.

ejc423 · Coach

I'm with you, Maddie.

His story is extreme. And written with transparent honesty. I think it contributes to the validity of the book that it isn't written to be a literary masterpiece. That would probably undermine the story and make most of us miss the point.

And for what it's worth, I watched the Oprah he was on, and was quite disappointed--they didn't really even begin to discuss his experience--it was mostly Oprah yapping and then the random people who went to rehab cause they read the book.

Bottom line for me is that I feel slightly more credible in understanding the feelings and actions of loved ones who are struggling with addiction. It really struck me when he said something like, No one should feel sorry for me. I am a criminal, an alcoholic, and a drug addict. It was eye-opening to see the contempt he had for himself at that point.

I'm interested to hear from anyone else who has finished it.

shopgirl · Kenneth Cole

i teared up when i read the passage with the author and leonard, and i was heartbroken when i read the last page of the book, so much so that i read it over and over again in hopes that it wasn't true.

i can't wait to read "My Friend Leonard."

Deborah

Maddie · Coach

Oh man, I cried so much in this book! I certainly don't have as deep of problems as he does, but I related to him a lot. I could see myself acting similarly in the same situations. I want to read My Friend Leonard too. Has anyone read it?