This book although i did read it a while ago, felt it deserved to get a review. I read this book a couple of years ago and since then it still remains one of my favourite books. Not only because of the gripping story but also because of the sense of reality which each and everyone of us face. Addiction is the main theme in this book, whether its addiction to drink, drugs or people. at the beginning of the book we are presented with our main character James. He is battered, severely injured and with no clue what has happened to him. We as the reader feel this sympathy for him, whether its because of his situation or the idea that its not that hard to happen. James is a drug addict, not just one drug but anything he can get his hands on. He has been for as long as he can remember, since his early teenage years. It started with lighter drugs such a cannabis but has gradually grow into crack, heroine and meth. James is taken to his parents where from there he is immediately checked into rehab. Rehab is then his journey through recovery, at first the nightmare is unlivable, he goes through his come down of drugs where he is heavily medicated. The sleep which he has is rough with horrible nightmares of his past and his drug intakes. the rest of the journey which James encounters in filled with pain, lessons, friendships and recovery. although at first he rejects the '12 steps' he then later has a realization that this is the only path he can take to assure he still is alive. Including the friendships he makes he meets a girl, who deeply falls in love with although relationships are banned. At the end we learn of his recovery, although the piece which really gripped me at the end is the list of the people who he made these strong friendships with in rehab, had died.
This book gripped me, not only with the incredible writing but also with the story. Although i have no had these such experiences they fascinate me. This book has the ability to draw the reader in so far that they begin to feel the characters emotions, which is the best feature of this book. The book is not a slow starting which i personally feel incredibly frustrated over, it begins straight away at the deep end. From this technique i felt almost close to the main character James. on the other hand i do agree the perception of the book being gruesome because of the scene in which Jam, in some ways it is incredibly untactful towards people recovering from addiction. I really enjoyed all the incredible characters which James Frey wrote, such as the girl who he falls in love with. this character has many issues much like James in the book and she is written so that you feel great sympathy for her because of her obvious terrible past. Overall i really do this this book is amazing, the writing, the characters that have been created and the message which is sending across to people, hope.
I have since reading the book herd that James Frey, however promising that this book is 100% truthful, elaborated the truth and however changed some of the truth to make the story more interesting. This really deducted from the amount i loved this book as i thought it was all a biography. Although i still recommend this story to anyone if they want a gripping, interesting story!
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