Oprah! Take the road of redemption and admit your mistake!
Tuesday, January 24, 2006 at 6:17PM ARTICLE: “Treatment Description In Memoir Is Disputed: Several addiction counselors question James Frey’s book,” by Edward Wyatt, New York Times, 24 January 2006, p. B1.
Frankly, I just don’t get this one. If Frey had simply pulled the wool over Oprah’s eyes, then she admits she was lied to and fooled. Big deal!
But this article points out that suspicions were raised directly to Oprah’s senior producers even before Frey appeared on her show (or more than 3 months prior to Smoking Gun’s revealed investigation) by a veteran counselor who had worked at Hazeldon in Minnesota, a woman who had herself frequently appeared as an addiction expert on Oprah’s show in the past (so a trusted source, yes?). Oprah’s people were concerned enough about her reporting that Frey’s description of his time there, which basically defines the book in question (420 out of the 432 pages), was full of gross distortions and outright fabrications, that they conducted their own investigation (whatever that means, frankly). But in the end, Oprah sticks with her choice, does the show, and, in the events that follows, basically chooses to blow off the concern of counselors who say that Frey’s fantastic lies will actually end up deterring real addicts from seeking treatment at such centers out of fear that they will suffer similarly unreal experiences.
In sum, Oprah, despite knowing better, chooses her own aura of infallibility over the potentially disastrous harm this book ends up causing among the very population she purports to help through its promotion.
I say, Oprah, forget about running for political office. With this sort of self-preserving hypocrisy, you’re already there.
The sad thing is, Oprah’s learning the old DC lesson: it’s not the mistake, but the cover-up and the stubbornness in admitting the mistake that actually costs more in the end.
Oprah needs to dust off her own tale of personal redemption. I’m sure her spirit is willing, even if her ego is too strong.
Reader Comments (4)
I just could not let the piece on James Frey go uncommented. One thing we all need to remember is that addicts have an extremely skewed perspective. The events recounted by Mr. Frey in the book are the events according to his memory, not according to the interviews of 3 or 4 people along with countless hours of research surrounding each incident. Therefore, what may seem as outlandish to you or I, may in fact be exactly how Mr. Frey's then detoxing brain and body tabulated and stored each event.
One thing to mention, my brother has used his book as an outlet during his on going rehabilitation therapy, and it has done him wonders. Like telling the story of Little Red Riding Hood to a child. I am sure it is false, but many a children have avoided wolves (or drugs or strangers or whatever dangerous object we can substitute for wolf). If this book was labeled a novel, vice a memior, all of thiese point would be moot. So the real issue here is about which section of your local book store in which one would find this book. As Oprah said on Larry King, if even one person reads this book and makes it through rehab, life is good.
Why is everyone picking on James Frey? I can name hundreds of memoirs with far more distortions than his.
And what about all the distortions in the Da Vinci code, a book that claimed to be fictional characters set in a factual world? To me distorting the historical record is of far greater significance.
I'm in the Frey-bashing club; the train wreck story is twisted. Frey takes on addicts in a dangerous way I think. He basically calls them pussies. Addicts are competitive if they're anything. I think he deserves what's coming. But,if he plays his cards right, this is the book.
here's a vote for: (basically) objective truth matters (postmodern critique notwithstanding). it's not ok for Frey to represent 'his memory' as truth if it's not, not even if it 'helps' other addicts. the truth will out. if he wants to write a novel about a recovering addict, more power to him. to represent his work as a memoir and have it not be true, well, fire away...