A Million Little Pieces - Reactions To Controversy

Reactions To Controversy

The publishers of the book, Doubleday and Anchor Books, initially stood by Frey. But further examination of the evidence eventually caused the publishers to alter their stances. They released a statement noting, "When the Smoking Gun report appeared, our first response, given that we were still learning the facts of the matter, was to support our author. Since then, we have questioned him about the allegations and have sadly come to the realization that a number of facts have been altered and incidents embellished." As a consequence, the publishers decided to include a publisher's note and an author's note from Frey as disclaimers to be included in future publications. According to the source at the company, there had been some disagreement among editors at the publishing house about Mr. Frey’s authenticity, but the early dissenters had been silenced by the book's commercial success, both pre- and post-Oprah.

Random House issued a statement regarding the controversy. It noted that future editions of the book would contain notes from both the publisher and Frey on the text, as well as prominent notations on the cover and on their website about the additions. On September 12, 2006, Frey and publisher Random House, Inc. reached a tentative legal settlement, where readers who felt that they had been defrauded by Frey's A Million Little Pieces would be offered a refund. In order to receive the refund, customers must submit a proof of purchase, pieces of the book itself (page 163 from the hard cover or the front cover from the paperback), and complete a sworn statement indicating that they purchased the book under the assumption that it was a memoir.

In Frey's note to readers, which will be included in future editions of the book, he apologized for fabricating portions of his book and for having made himself seem "tougher and more daring and more aggressive than in reality I was, or I am." He added,

"People cope with adversity in many different ways, ways that are deeply personal. My mistake is writing about the person I created in my mind to help me cope, and not the person who went through the experience."

Frey admitted that he had literary reasons for his fabrications, as well:

"I wanted the stories in the book to ebb and flow, to have dramatic arcs, to have the tension that all great stories require."

Nevertheless, he defended the right of memoirists to draw upon their memories, not simply upon documented facts, in creating their memoirs. Additionally, Frey has discussed the controversy and stated his side of the argument on his blog.

Shortly after Frey's return to the Oprah Winfrey show, the Brooklyn Public Library went as far as recataloging Frey's book as fiction, although it appears most other libraries have not followed suit. The New York Times Best Seller list still includes it on the Paperback Nonfiction List as of September 2006.

Regardless of this controversy, the book has been published in twenty-nine languages worldwide and has sold over 5 million copies. The majority of these sales occurred after Oprah announced it as the new Oprah's Book Club book.

On January 18, 2006, Marty Angelo, prison minister and author of the book Once Life Matters: A New Beginning, came to the defense of James Frey in a press release. While Angelo did not condone the inclusion of fictional elements in a book marketed as non-fiction, he stated, “The controversy surrounding the recent accusations that Frey embellished some of his statements in his book is relatively minor compared to the fact this man claims he cleared one of the biggest hurdles in his life—his substance abuse. That’s the bottom line issue.”

“Right now the media seems to be negatively attacking the messenger instead of concentrating on promoting the positive message of redemption...” Angelo added. “In terms of the benefit to readers as a self-help book, the message is the key issue, not the minor story details. One needs to stay focused on what the real message is—overcoming addiction.”

On July 28, 2007, at a literary convention in Texas, Nan Talese spoke of Oprah Winfrey as having been "mean and self-serving" and having had a "holier-than-thou attitude" and "fiercely bad manners" during Winfrey's debate with Talese and James Frey on January 26, 2006. Talese said she and Frey were led to believe the show was going to be a panel discussion on "Truth in America." Just before air time, both Talese and Frey were told the topic of the show had been changed to "The James Frey Controversy," thus the ambush began. Talese stated that Oprah needed to apologize for her behavior on the show. However Joyce Carol Oates said "This is an ethical issue which can be debated passionately and with convincing arguments on both sides. In the end, Oprah Winfrey had to defend her own ethical standards of truth on her television program, which was courageous of her." Talese was unapologetic about publishing Frey's A Million Little Pieces and commented the gripping book has great value for anyone who must deal with a loved one who is an addict.