Book Review: A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
By AntonyAmazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo CommentsA Million Little Pieces by James Frey is addictive like crack cocaine. Once you pick it up and start reading, you’ll find it near impossible to put back down.
From the cover:
Frey takes the reader on his rollercoaster of a journey to recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. It starts with him waking up on a plane with no memory of how he got there, what happened to his face or where he’s going. |
is set during Frey’s stay in rehab; is well paced and has plenty of tension, conflict and resolution. Both internally and externally. He recalls memories of his dysfunctional and chaotic alcohol and drug using past.
Stylistically A Million Little Pieces lacked speech marks, but this was possibly deliberate. Not having speech marks was a noticeable stylistic change to the normal layout of a book. Frey was probably using this to subtly hint that his story wasn’t like the story of most people. Frey’s lack of dialogue tags was generally acceptable, but on the odd occasion where Frey had written a scene with a group of people, it did get difficult to establish who had said what.
Towards the end of A Million Little Pieces it began to feel fictional. As I was coming to the end of the book and had enjoyed reading it, I decided to look into other books that Frey had written.
After doing a Google Search, I discovered the story of A Million Little Pieces and understood why it felt fictional – because parts of it were.
A Million Little Pieces was commercially hugely successful both in the US and internationally after being featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. But then The Smoking Gun revealed in an article titled ‘A Million Little Lies’ that some of Frey’s claims around his criminal past didn’t match up with court records.
Oprah had to respond to these revelations and interviewed Frey on a few occasions. The most recent, a few years after A Million Little Pieces was exposed as being in part fictional is available to watch below:
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I can understand while some people felt lied to, as A Million Little Pieces was promoted and marketed as a memoir.
But I wasn’t in the slightest bit surprised that some of A Million Little Pieces was fact and some was fiction. Because that’s how it read. Who wouldn’t change some of their past if they had the chance? Don’t we all do that all the time? Change things to make them sound better or worse than they actually are with the aim of making our stories more interesting to our friends, family, co-workers, etc. Can we really blame Frey for doing the same for the reader?
Regardless A Million Little Pieces is still a great read. Worth reading if you are interested in addiction, crime, alcohol, drugs, rehab and recovery. Just hold on is a phrase often repeated in the book and was a phrase that I adopted when I was suffering from severe clinical depression.
My Friend Leonard is the follow up book and picks up where A Million Little Pieces ended. I’m currently reading My Friend Leonard and enjoying it just as much as I did A Million Little Pieces.
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey is available to buy on Amazon.
Review soon,
Antony
Review: My Cats (Dylan & Russell) Enjoy Playing with Automatic Laser Toy by FroliCat
By AntonyAmazon, Pets, Reviews, TechnologyNo CommentsI haven’t blogged about Dylan and Russell my gorgeous bengal cats in ages. They’ve really grown up, but they are still very playful. Which is why I bought them this Automatic Laser Toy by FroliCat.
The Automatic Laser Toy shoots a red laser across the floor in a circular motion for the cats to chase. It has has four speed settings (slow, medium, fast and variable) and allows you to decide how long playtime is for by setting a timer (5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes). |
Dylan and Russell enjoy playing the Automatic Laser Toy game. Here’s a video showing them playing with it:
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The Automatic Laser Toy must be placed in the centre of the room, meaning you have to be careful not to trip on it. It works on AA batteries which is good as it makes it portable, but it does mean that as the batteries get low the Automatic Laser Toy slows down. The internal motor is noisy.But my cats love it!
Every time the Automatic Laser Toy is on Dylan and Russell chase around after the light. If you’ve got cats, yours will love it to. The Automatic Laser Toy by FroliCat is available to buy on Amazon.
Review soon,
Antony
Last year I was Thinking About Homelessness and made donations to The Albert Kennedy Trust and Shelter. I aim to donate to these charities again this year. But this year I’ve also made donations to:
After reading this blog post: Why EVEN I’M excited about the beta cell breakthrough for type 1 diabetes – and why your £10 donation today will go further than ever before. By JDRF’s Head of Research Communication Rachel Connor, as a Type 1 diabetic, I felt compelled to donate towards a cure for diabetes. |
I hope to buy or be bought a JDRF onesie from Onesie Warehouse to make a further £5 donation.
After watching Tom Daley’s and Dustin Lance Black’s heart-felt Youtube video, I decided to donate. My donation supports The Human Rights Campaign in the US and The Brain Tumour Charity in the UK. Both worthy causes that deserve support.
Plus by donating I’ve got a chance to win a double date with Tom & Dustin which includes: a photoshoot, going on the London Eye, going for dinner with Tom & Dustin before being shown around some cool places in London by them. |
To find out more see: Omaze – Go on the best double date ever with Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black in London.
I’ve made a donation to help make the film Sell-Off – The Abolition of Your NHS. |
I am seeing the results of The Health and Social Care Act (2012) on the NHS firsthand. We are quickly moving towards the American model of healthcare, driven by profit not medical need and I think it’s wrong. This film will hopefully show the general public the truth, which is being widely under reported in the media.
All these donations have been relatively small. But even small donations help, and if many people made small donations it would soon mount up.
Write soon,
Antony
About
Antony Simpson - Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.
Author of five books:
Ways The Human Can Go Wrong
Are you a Doctor, Nurse, Healthcare Assistant or Other Healthcare Professional? Or a Student?
Ways The Human Body Can Go Wrong covers every system of the body, what can go wrong when the body malfunctions or fails, symptoms (including why these happen) and cures/treatments available.
It includes knowledge around essential skills for Clinical Excellence such as Assessment, All Age Observational Norms, Models of Care, Communication/Handover Tips, the role of Specialities, Medication Tips, Dealing with Errors, Documentation Advice and a list of Useful Resources.
It is written in plain English, but highlights important medical terminology. It has been written at a level where someone from a non-medical background can pick it up and learn, but that it is still valuable to those with significant Clinical Experience.
My Royal Navy Friend
My dear friend Roy decided to follow in his family’s footsteps and enlist in the Royal Navy.
I wanted to maintain our friendship, to continue to support Roy, to make him laugh and to entertain him. So I came up with the idea of sending him a weekly email on random topics.
These emails were on a variety of topics, always being entertaining, sometimes being interesting, sometimes funny and occasionally being serious.
Topics included: Jokes, Puzzles, Inspirational Quotes, Future Technology to Be Excited About, How to Fight A Shark, How to Woo A Turtle, Some of the Most Amazing Jobs in the World, Facts About Castles, Do Aliens Exist?, The Kindest Humans, A List of Cakes, 13 Weird Body Facts, 20 Super Space Facts, Ancient Egyptian Curses, 10 Weird Olympic Games, The Great Emu War of 1932, Quiz: Flags of the World, Legendary Characters from the UK and others.
My Royal Navy Friend is a copy of these emails. In total, there are 52 emails. Dispersed throughout the book are also Royal Navy facts and stories.
The Alcohol Therapy Workbook
This workbook has been designed for anyone that is struggling with alcohol or has struggled with alcohol in the past.
It is written in a Motivational Interviewing style, one of the key therapies used to support people with alcohol issues. It has been designed using a trauma-informed approach and is strength–based.
What you will find in this book is more than just worksheets about alcohol. You’ll find all the tools someone needs to get into recovery from alcohol and stay there. It’s a therapy-based book, not an alcohol-based book.
SpellCast
SpellCast is a comprehensive compendium of spells, oils, charms and talismans. It is purely a book about magic, folk magic for the 21st century. The spells are ones that are tried and tested, with some that will stand the test of time.
In SpellCast you will read about the power of Instant Magic, of Banishment & Bindings, Blessings, Cleansing, Communication, Death, Employment, Finance & Money, Fertility, Friendship, Happiness & Joy, Health, Love & Relationships, Luck Magic, Protection, Transformative Magic and WishCraft.
This book will change your life. Your life will be abundant in all meanings of the word.
Mental Health Wisdom
This book contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom
Mental Health Wisdom contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
If you find my blog educational or entertaining, please consider making a purchase or donation on Ko-Fi.
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A great introductory article on candle magic :)
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