A Million Little Pieces

By: James Frey

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

By the time James Frey enters a drug and alcohol treatment facility, he has so thoroughly ravaged his body that the doctors are shocked he is still alive. Inside the clinic, he is surrounded by patients as troubled as he: a judge, a mobster, a former world-champion boxer, and a fragile former prostitute. To James, their friendship and advice seem stronger and truer than the clinic's droning dogma of How to Recover.

James refuses to consider himself a victim of anything but his own bad decisions. He insists on accepting sole accountability for the person he has been and the person he may become, which he feels runs counter to his counselor's recipes for recovery. He must fight to survive on his own terms, for reasons close to his own heart. And he must battle the ever-tempting chemical trip to oblivion.

An uncommonly genuine account of a life destroyed and reconstructed, and a provocative alternative understanding of the nature of addiction and the meaning of recovery, A Million Little Pieces marks the debut of a bold and talented literary voice.

*In January 2006, the author and publisher of this title acknowledged that a number of facts had been altered and incidents embellished.

Find out what life is like for James Frey post-rehab; make his second memoir, My Friend Leonard, your next listen.Or check out more selections from Oprah's Book Club.

©2003 James Frey (P)2003 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"A Million Little Pieces is this generation's most comprehensive book about addiction: a heartbreaking memoir defined by its youthful tone and poetic honesty." (Bret Easton Ellis)

Excellent!

What did you love best about A Million Little Pieces?

This was a great story. I thought the narrator did a great job and i still have certain words he spoke in my mind even after one year. I often found myself sitting in my car with the engine on just to hear the end of the chapter.

Enjoyable

Excellent narration!!!!!!! Good writing, very detailed, which allowed you to be transported to the writer's environment. Alot of refrain use, which was at times annoying but the narrator compensated for that.

A Million Little Pieces

An Exciting adventure. I know there is alot of controversy about the author, and if it is a biography or fiction. It is a great read, either way. The story is vivid and well told. The narator does a good job. I did not want it to end. So,I also purchased "My Friend Leonard " James Frey's seqequel.I enjoyed that also.

Could be a life changing book / experience

Could be a life changing book / experience
felt his feelings, shared his experiences inside.

Oscar-worthy Narrator

I guess it all depends on what style of writing you prefer--some of the other reviewers seemed to object to the redundancy of the author's narration but I found that it enhanced his story and really put me into his state of mind.

As much as I enjoyed the text, the narrator really made this 'listen' come to life. Somehow he was able to capture exactly what the author seemed to be feeling and he did an amazing job. Highly recommended for avid memoir readers.

PS: I normally won't touch abridged formats but this one was seamless.