Virtually everyone in Montgomery has first-hand knowledge of a chronic drug and/or alcohol abuser.  O.K. Make that everyone in America. It’s a continuing widespread problem for the human species in general and modern society in particular.

 The extended problem, of course, is analysis and solution. Why is it and How do you fix.  Laws are ineffectual.  Prohibition was a sorry and retracted smear on our constitution, and the 30-year War on Drugs can be best viewed as an abysmal failure.

 Rehab and treatment options are many with mixed underlying philosophies. The most enduring one, though still with a low success rate (self-proclaimed at 15%), is the 12-step program of A.A.  This is the program used by the nationally recognized Hazelton Rehab Center in Minnesota.  And this is the setting for James Frey’s personal recovery story in A Million Little Pieces.

 This is a book not for the timid.  An unlikely combination of emotions—aggression and despondency—mark Frey’s style as he describes his time at the center, his addictive history, his rejection of the 12-step philosophy, and his own formulation for recovery. A jarring tale but absolutely mesmerizing.

 This was an Oprah book and rightfully labeled as a “can’t put down” one.  Here’s a sampling of some book jacket reviews:

“Somehow accomplishes what 3 decades 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.”

And…”A book that makes other recovery memoirs look, well, a little pussy-ass.”

 So. Be prepared for a hard-core, hard language, in-your-face account of a bottomed-out life and the difficulty of recovery.  Highly recommended—unless you’re quitting smoking, coffee, or have an impending major dental appointment.