Million Little Pieces image
Million Little Pieces Frey, James Edition: N/A Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Number of Pages: 448 ISBN10: 0307276902 ISBN13: 9780307276902 Dimensions: 5.75" w x 8.00" l x 1.25" h Weight: 0.68 lbs. Binding: Trade Paper Language: English List Price: 15.95

Description

I wake to the drone of an airplane engine and the feeling of something warm dripping down my chin. I lift my hand to feel my face. My front four teeth are gone, I have a hole in my cheek, my nose is broken and my eyes are swollen nearly shut. I open them and I look around and I'm in the back of a plane and there's no one near me. I look at my clothes and my clothes are covered with a colorful mixt...I wake to the drone of an airplane engine and the feeling of something warm dripping down my chin. I lift my hand to feel my face. My front four teeth are gone, I have a hole in my cheek, my nose is broken and my eyes are swollen nearly shut. I open them and I look around and I'm in the back of a plane and there's no one near me. I look at my clothes and my clothes are covered with a colorful mixture of spit, snot, urine, vomit and blood. I reach for the call button and I find it and I push it and I wait and thirty seconds later an Attendant arrives. How can I help you? Where am I going? You don't know? No. You're going to Chicago, Sir. How did I get here? A Doctor and two men brought you on. They say anything? They talked to the Captain, Sir. We were told to let you sleep. How long till we land? About twenty minutes. Thank you. Although I never look up, I know she smiles and feels sorry for me. She shouldn't. A short while later we touch down. I look around for anything I might have with me, but there's nothing. No ticket, no bags, no clothes, no wallet. I sit and I wait and I try to figure out what happened. Nothing comes. Once the rest of the Passengers are gone I stand and start to make my way to the door. After about five steps I sit back down. Walking is out of the question. I see my Attendant friend and I raise a hand. Are you okay? No. What's wrong? I can't really walk. If you make it to the door I can get you a chair. How far is the door? Not far. I stand. I wobble. I sit back down. I stare at the floor and take a deep breath. You'll be all right. I look up and she's smiling. Here. She holds out her hand and I take it. I stand and I lean against her and she helps me down the Aisle. We get to the door. I'll be right back. I let go of her hand and I sit down on the steel bridge of the Jetway that connects the Plane to the Gate. I'm not going anywhere. She laughs and I watch her walk away and I close my eyes. My head hurts, my mouth hurts, my eyes hurt, my hands hurt. Things without names hurt. I rub my stomach. I can feel it coming. Fast and strong and burning. No way to stop it, just close your eyes and let it ride. It comes and I recoil from the stench and the pain. There's nothing I can do. Oh my God. I open my eyes. I'm all right. Let me find a Doctor. I'll be fine. Just get me out of here. Can you stand? Yeah, I can stand. I stand and I brush myself off and I wipe my hands on the floor and I sit down in the wheelchair she has brought me. She goes around to the back of the chair and she starts pushing. Is someone here for you? I hope so. You don't know. No. What if no one's there? It's happened before, I'll find my way. We come off the Jetway and into the Gate. Before I have a chance to look around, my Mother and Father are standing in front of me. Oh Jesus. Please, Mom. Oh my God, what happened? I don't want to talk about it, Mom. Jesus Christ, Jimmy. What in Hell happened? She leans over and she tries to hug me. I push her away. Let's just get out of here, Mom. My Dad goes around to the back of the chair. I look for the Attendant but she has disappeared. Bless her. You okay, James? I stare straight ahead. No, Dad, I'm not okay. He starts pushing the chair. Do you have any bags? My Mother continues crying. No. People are staring. Do you need anything? I need to get out of here, Dad. Just get me the fuck out of here. They wheel me to their car. I climb in the backseat and I take off my shir“The most lacerating tale of drug addiction since William S. Burroughs’Junky.” —The Boston Globe “Again and again, the book delivers recollections that leave the reader winded and unsteady. James Frey’s staggering recovery memoir could well be seen as the final word on the topic.”—San Francisco Chronicle “A brutal, beautifully written memoir.”—The Denver Post “Gripping . . . A great story . . . You can’t help but cheer his victory.” —Los Angeles Times Book ReviewAt the age of twenty-three, James Frey woke up on a plane to find his four front teeth had been knocked out. His nose was broken and there was a hole through his cheek. He had no idea where the plane was headed or what had happened over the preceding two weeks. He had been an alcoholic for ten years and a crack addict for three. When he checked into a treatment facility shortly thereafter, he was told he could either stop using or die before he reached twenty-four. A Million Little Pieces is Frey's acclaimed account of his six weeks in rehab; fiercely honest and deeply affecting, it is one of the most graphic and immediate books ever to be written about addiction and recovery.“From the get-go, [Frey’s] book sets itself a part, its narrative unspooling in short, unindented paragraphs and barely punctuated sentences whose spare, deadpan language belies the horror of what he’s describing – a meltdown dispatched in telegrams.” —The New York Times Book Review “One of the best stories of transformation I’ve ever read. . . . Anyone who has ever felt broken and wished for a better life will find inspiration in Frey’s story. This won’t be the last we’ll hear of him.” —People “A ripping, gripping read. It’s a staggeringly sober book whose stylistic tics are well-suited to its subject matter, and a finger in the eye of the culture of complaint . . . Engrossing.” —Philadelphia Inquirer “A frenzied, electrifying description of the experience.” –The New Yorker “We finish A Million Little Pieces like miners lifted out of a collapsed shaft: exhausted, blackened, oxygen-starved, but alive, thrillingly, amazingly alive.” –Minneapolis Star-Tribune “One of the most compelling books of the year… Incredibly bold…Somehow accomplishes what three decades’ worth of cheesy public service announcements and after-school specials have failed to do: depict hard-core drug addiction as the self-inflicted apocalypse that it is.” –The New York Post “Thoroughly engrossing . . . Hard-bitten existentialism bristles on every page . . . Frey’s prose is muscular and tough, ideal for conveying extreme physical anguish and steely determination.” –Entertainment Weekly “Incredible… Mesmerizing…Heart-rending.” –Atlanta Journal-Constitution “A rising literary star… has birthed a poetic account of his recovery. [A Million Little Pieces is] stark… disturbing… rife with raw emotion...” –Chicago Sun-Times “Frey will probably be hailed in turn as the voice of a generation.” –Elle Magazine “We can admire Frey for his fierceness, his extremity, his solitary virtue, the angry ethics of his barroom tribe, and his victory over his furies… A compelling book.” –New York Magazine “An intimate, vivid and heartfelt memoir. Can Frey be the greatest writer of his generation? Maybe.” –New York Press “Incredible… A ferociously compelling memoir.” –Cleveland Plain Dealer “Insistent as it is demanding… A story that cuts to the nerve of addiction by clank-clank-clanking through the skull of the addicted… A critical milestone in modern literature.” –Orlando Weekly “At once devastatingly bleak and heartbreakingly hopeful. . . . Frey somehow manages to make his step-by-step walk through recovery compelling.” –Charlotte Observer “A stark, direct and graphic documentation of the rehabilitation process . . . The strength of the book comes from the truth of the experience.” –The Oregonian “A virtual addiction itself, viscerally affecting . . . Compulsively readable.” –City Paper (Washington, DC) “Powerful . . . haunting . . . addictive . . . A beautiful story of recovery and reconciliation.” –Iowa City Press-Citizen “An exhilarating read . . . Frey’s"James Frey has written the War and Peace of addiction. It lends new meaning to the word 'harrowing' and one sometimes shudders to read it. But deep down, beneath all the layers and the masks, there lives something unconquerable in Frey's hurt spirit... And the writing, the writing, the writing." -Pat Conroy "A Million Little Pieces is as intense and perfectly detailed an account of a human quitting his drug and alcohol dependency as you are likely to read. And James Frey is horribly honest and funny in a young-guard Eggers and Wallace sort of way, but perhaps more contained and measured. He is unerring in his descent into a world where the characters need help in such extremely desperate ways. Read this immediately.” –Gus Van Sant "A Million Little Pieces is this generation's most comprehensive book about addiction: a heartbreaking memoir defined by its youthful tone and poetic honesty. Beneath the brutality of James Frey’s painful process of growing up, there are simple gestures of kindness that will reduce even the most jaded to tears. Very few books earn those tears -- this one does. It will have you sobbing, laughing, angry, frustrated, and most importantly, hopeful. A Million Little Pieces is inspirational and essential. A remarkable performance." -Bret Easton Ellis"The most lacerating tale of drug addiction since William S. Burroughs' Junky." --"The Boston Globe" "Again and again, the book delivers recollections that leave the reader winded and unsteady. James Frey's staggering recovery memoir could well be seen as the final word on the topic."--"San Francisco Chronicle" "A brutal, beautifully written memoir."--"The Denver Post" "Gripping . . . A great story . . . You can't help but cheer his victory." --"Los Angeles Times Book Review"" From the get-go, [Frey' s] book sets itself a part, its narrative unspooling in short, unindented paragraphs and barely punctuated sentences whose spare, deadpan language belies the horror of what he's describing - a meltdown dispatched in telegrams." -- "The New York Times Book Review" " One of the best stories of transformation I've ever read. . . . Anyone who has ever felt broken and wished for a better life will find inspiration in Frey's story. This won't be the last we'll hear of him." -- "People" " A ripping, gripping read. It's a staggeringly sober book whose stylistic tics are well-suited to its subject matter, and a finger in the eye of the culture of complaint . . . Engrossing." -- "Philadelphia Inquirer" " A frenzied, electrifying description of the experience." - "The New Yorker" " We finish A Million Little Pieces like miners lifted out of a collapsed shaft: exhausted, blackened, oxygen-starved, but alive, thrillingly, amazingly alive." "- Minneapolis Star-Tribune" " One of the most compelling books of the year... Incredibly bold... Somehow accomplishes what three decades' worth of cheesy public service announcements and after-school specials have failed to do: depict hard-core drug addiction as the self-inflicted apocalypse that it is." - "The New York Post" " Thoroughly engrossing . . . Hard-bitten existentialism bristles on every page . . . Frey's prose is muscular and tough, ideal for conveying extreme physical anguish and steely determination." " - Entertainment Weekly" " Incredible... Mesmerizing... Heart-rending." - "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" " A rising literary star... has birthed a poetic account of his recovery. [A Million Little Pieces is] stark... disturbing... rife with raw emotion..." - "Chicago Sun-Times" " Frey will probably be hailed in turn as the voice of a generation." - "Elle Magazine" " We can admire Frey for his fierceness, his extremity, his solitary virtue, the angry ethics of his barroom tribe, and his victory over his furies... A compelling book." - "New York Magazine" " An intimate, vivid and heartfelt memoir. Can Frey be the greatest writer of his generation? Maybe." - "New York Press" " Incredible... A ferociously compelling memoir." "- Cleveland Plain Dealer" " Insistent as it is demanding... A story that cuts to the nerve of addiction by clank-clank-clanking through the skull of the addicted... A critical milestone in modern literature." - "Orlando Weekly" " At once devastatingly bleak and heartbreakingly hopeful. . . . Frey somehow manages to make his step-by-step walk through recovery compelling." - "Charlotte Observer" " A stark, direct and graphic documentation of the rehabilitation process . . . The strength of the book comes from the truth of the experience." - "The Oregonian" " A virtual addiction itself, viscerally affecting . . . Compulsively readable." - "City Paper" (Washington, DC) " Powerful . . . haunting . . . addictive . . . A beautiful story of recovery andreconciliation." - "Iowa City Press-Citizen" " An exhilarating read . . . Frey's intense, punchy prose renders his experiences with electrifying immediacy." - "Time Out New York" " Describes the hopelessness and the inability to stop with precision . . . As anyone who has ever spent time in a rehab can testify, . . . he gets that down too." - "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" " Frey comes on like the world's first recovering-addict hero. . . . [His] criticism of the twelve-step philosophy is provocative and his story undeniably compelling." - "GQ" " [A] gruesomely absorbing account, told in stripped-down, staccato prose." - "Details" " Frey has devised a rolling, pulsating style that really moves . . . undeniably striking. . . . A fierce and honorable work that refuses to glamorize [the] author's addiction or his thorny personality. . . . A book that makes other recovery memoirs look, well, a little pussy-ass." - "Salon"0;From the get-go, [Frey7;s] book sets itself a part, its narrative unspooling in short, unindented paragraphs and barely punctuated sentences whose spare, deadpan language belies the horror of what he7;s describing - a meltdown dispatched in telegrams.1; -The New York Times Book Review 0;One of the best stories of transformation I7;ve ever read. . . . Anyone who has ever felt broken and wished for a better life will find inspiration in Frey7;s story. This won7;t be the last we7;ll hear of him.1; -People 0;A ripping, gripping read. It7;s a staggeringly sober book whose stylistic tics are well-suited to its subject matter, and a finger in the eye of the culture of complaint . . . Engrossing.1; -Philadelphia Inquirer 0;A frenzied, electrifying description of the experience.1; -The New Yorker 0;We finish A Million Little Pieces like miners lifted out of a collapsed shaft: exhausted, blackened, oxygen-starved, but alive, thrillingly, amazingly alive.1; -Minneapolis Star-Tribune 0;One of the most compelling books of the year... Incredibly bold...Somehow accomplishes what three decades7; worth of cheesy public service announcements and after-school specials have failed to do: depict hard-core drug addiction as the self-inflicted apocalypse that it is.1; -The New York Post 0;Thoroughly engrossing . . . Hard-bitten existentialism bristles on every page . . . Frey7;s prose is muscular and tough, ideal for conveying extreme physical anguish and steely determination.1; -Entertainment Weekly 0;Incredible... Mesmerizing...Heart-rending.1; -Atlanta Journal-Constitution 0;A rising literary star... has birthed a poetic account of his recovery. [A Million Little Pieces is] stark... disturbing... rife with raw emotion...1; -Chicago Sun-Times 0;Frey will probably be hailed in turn as the voice of a generation.1; -Elle Magazine 0;We can admire Frey for his fierceness, his extremity, his solitary virtue, the angry ethics of his barroom tribe, and his victory over his furies... A compelling book.1; -New York Magazine 0;An intimate, vivid and heartfelt memoir. Can Frey be the greatest writer of his generation? Maybe.1; -New York Press 0;Incredible... A ferociously compelling memoir.1; -Cleveland Plain Dealer 0;Insistent as it is demanding... A story that cuts to the nerve of addiction by clank-clank-clanking through the skull of the addicted... A critical milestone in modern literature.1; -Orlando Weekly 0;At once devastatingly bleak and heartbreakingly hopeful. . . . Frey somehow manages to make his step-by-step walk through recovery compelling.1; -Charlotte Observer 0;A stark, direct and graphic documentation of the rehabilitation process . . . The strength of the book comes from the truth of the experience.1; -The Oregonian 0;A virtual addiction itself, viscerally affecting . . . Compulsively readable.1; -City Paper (Washington, DC) 0;Powerful . . . haunting . . . addictive . . . A beautiful story of recovery and reconciliation.1; -Iowa City Press-Citizen 0;An exhilarating read . . . Frey7;s"From the get-go, [Frey's] book sets itself a part, its narrative unspooling in short, unindented paragraphs and barely punctuated sentences whose spare, deadpan language belies the horror of what he's describing a meltdown dispatched in telegrams." The New York Times Book Review "One of the best stories of transformation I've ever read. . . . Anyone who has ever felt broken and wished for a better life will find inspiration in Frey's story. This won't be the last we'll hear of him." People "A ripping, gripping read. It's a staggeringly sober book whose stylistic tics are well-suited to its subject matter, and a finger in the eye of the culture of complaint . . . Engrossing." Philadelphia Inquirer "A frenzied, electrifying description of the experience." The New Yorker "We finish A Million Little Pieces like miners lifted out of a collapsed shaft: exhausted, blackened, oxygen-starved, but alive, thrillingly, amazingly alive." Minneapolis Star-Tribune "One of the most compelling books of the year... Incredibly bold...Somehow accomplishes what three decades' worth of cheesy public service announcements and after-school specials have failed to do: depict hard-core drug addiction as the self-inflicted apocalypse that it is." The New York Post "Thoroughly engrossing . . . Hard-bitten existentialism bristles on every page . . . Frey's prose is muscular and tough, ideal for conveying extreme physical anguish and steely determination." Entertainment Weekly "Incredible... Mesmerizing...Heart-rending." Atlanta Journal-Constitution "A rising literary star... has birthed a poetic account of his recovery. [A Million Little Pieces is] stark... disturbing... rife with raw emotion..." Chicago Sun-Times "Frey will probably be hailed in turn as the voice of a generation." Elle Magazine "We can admire Frey for his fierceness, his extremity, his solitary virtue, the angry ethics of his barroom tribe, and his victory over his furies... A compelling book." New York Magazine "An intimate, vivid and heartfelt memoir. Can Frey be the greatest writer of his generation? Maybe." New York Press "Incredible... A ferociously compelling memoir." Cleveland Plain Dealer "Insistent as it is demanding... A story that cuts to the nerve of addiction by clank-clank-clanking through the skull of the addicted... A critical milestone in modern literature." Orlando Weekly "At once devastatingly bleak and heartbreakingly hopeful. . . . Frey somehow manages to make his step-by-step walk through recovery compelling." Charlotte Observer "A stark, direct and graphic documentation of the rehabilitation process . . . The strength of the book comes from the truth of the experience." The Oregonian "A virtual addiction itself, viscerally affecting . . . Compulsively readable." City Paper (Washington, DC) "Powerful . . . haunting . . . addictive . . . A beautiful story of recovery and reconciliation." Iowa City Press-Citizen "An exhilarating read . . . Frey's (more) (less)

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