Teran Ross
English
Grant
December 2, 2013

Many people lie because they believe it is appropriate in specific situations. Others lie because they feel that they have no other choice. James Frey lied because he thought it was the right thing to do; he wanted to tell the story in the way he imagined. He tried getting his book published by 17 other publishers and they all rejected him except one publisher that would only accept the book if he published it as a memoir. James Frey desperately wanted his book to be published so he was eager just as anyone else would be. So he decided this was the right thing for him to do. Although James Frey lied the fact is he had a legitimate memoir but he changed a few things because that was the way he saw his life. James Frey is a recovering drug addict that decided he wanted to become an American writer. He is well known for his book A Million Little Pieces; investigators discovered that Frey exaggerated some parts of the story. Oprah Winfrey had a segment on her show called The Book Club, she read Frey’s book and put it onto her show. She enjoyed the story so much that she decided to have James Frey on her show and interview him. Oprah invited Frey to the show in 2006 to talk about his book and how it’s caught the attention of many people. After investigators proved that Frey lied during some parts of his story Oprah invites him to the show again for a live interview. She was extremely displeased when James Frey confirmed he lied in his memoir.
Oprah states, “A six-week investigation shows Frey’s life was far less exciting than he makes it out to be in his memoir.”(24) Oprah states, “But the underlying message of redemption in James Frey’s memoir still resonates with me, and I know it resonates with millions of other people who have read this book.”(24) As a result of customers finding out that James Frey lied, many people wanted refunds. People believe James Frey has all the right to change a few things in his story although he calls it a memoir. Others think it was wrong of him to change