James Frey. Oh, how I loved A Million Little Pieces. I couldn't get to My Friend Leonard fast enough and when I finished, I loved that too. His writing style, his story, the drama, the trauma...I was hooked and enamored. My book club girls and I were abuzz over the James Frey books as were many people across the country. But then...the Oprah fiasco. Frey's harrowing true story of rehab and redemption was perhaps not so true after all. It was fiction based on true events, but none-the-less fiction and misrepresented. Oprah was one of Frey's biggest fans and supporters. The revelation left her mortified.
She was so hard on him. I was annoyed with what some referred to as a total evisceration of him that broadcast across public television in January, 2006. Ouch. It wasn't pretty and ended up being quite controversial. Today, however, I watched the second part of a two part interview of Frey on Oprah. This time, five years later, he apologized again for his fabrications and duplicity and she, alas, apologized for her delivery and harshness admitting to a bruised ego and her own embarrassment over the entire debacle. She seemed genuinely amazed that she'd been able to find more compassion for murderers and child molestors that had been on her show than she could for James Frey.
Though I was disappointed with Frey's misrepresentation and felt a little duped myself by his books, it didn't make me like them any less. But his admission sort of knocked the wind out of my sails so to speak. I didn't go on about his books anymore and just sort of moved on to the next author.
At some point, I remember wondering if Frey had relapsed, gotten lost again in his addictions. I thought about him every now and again curious as to what happened to him. He wrote a few more books. I never got to them. But what else? What was really going on with James Frey? Did he get over the humiliation of it all? Was he humbled? Outraged? Traumatized? Was there life after being flayed by the almighty Oprah? I say that with endearment; I have always been an Oprah fan.
Turns out Frey moved to France and lived a quiet life for a while, enjoying his wife, small daughter and the peacefulness of living abroad. He admitted to being sickened by the thought of returning to the United States and facing all that had gone down. But Frey had deeper suffering ahead. Sadly, he'd lost a son, at eleven days old, to an incurable neurological disorder. The Oprah incident was meaningless. He'd suffered much worse. But there has been no relapse. Frey said he didn't want the headlines after the Oprah incident and has since maintained sobriety. Not always easy. Frey says the hole in his heart from the loss of his child is and always will be a raw and open wound.
Today, he's living in New York city with his wife and two children and runs a unique literary agency that has seen much success. He's surviving and thriving and grateful for the family and friends who stood by him. He's also as confident as ever in his writing skills and just released a new novel, The Final Testament to the Holy Bible. Ballsy title. Please excuse the French. I'm curious though. If I were a cynic, I'd think it was all a brilliant marketing ploy. Instead, I'm encouraged by the the story within the story - Media Mogul and Talented Author Make Up and Life Goes On (and goes on well if you let it).
Thanks James and Oprah for redeeming yourselves. Both of you.
