Dear James, Last night I dreamt I was hurting you.

And when I woke up, I'd cut my giant marshmallow into a million little pieces.

Pop
Edinburgh
Scotland
Off heroin, sober, and not attending meetings.

* Send letters for James to jamesfreyowesmemoney@gmail.com.

Dear James, I bought 6 copies.

I thought the writing was pretty good, especially when I belived it was born of real wounds.

I'm a pastor and a former drunk. I bought six copies of your book to give to various guys I meet with who are only sober for days at a time and who haven't (so far) been able to make the 12 Steps work for them. They loved your book, too. It gave them hope.

And that's why this whole episode is so sad. I'm guessing that those who have given you a pass on your charade are not those who are dealing with real addictions, personally or otherwise. They do not know how destructive false hope can be- how it can be seized on by the addict with a "Fuck it all, then..point me to the bar."

I've apologized to all of those who I gave the book to. I've apologized profusely, because now I have added to their already enormous bag of excuses for "not trying." I hope I can regain the level of trust with them that I had.

I do hope the sobriety part of your story is true. But since I now doubt your addiction story itself, then I may just be wasting more of my time even doing that. I don't want any money back, but if you can figure out a way to give me back some credibility, with guys who are starving for it, let me know..

Twelve years, three months, and counting,

David Weber

* Send letters for James to jamesfreyowesmemoney@gmail.com.

Dear James, You don't owe me a penny -- just three or four hours of my life back

That's okay, James. You don't have to pay me. Someone lent me the book, a week or two before Oprah picked you for the book club. Said I'd never be able to put it down. Not only was I able to put it down, but I couldn't get past Chapter Four. When Oprah announced that yours was her next Book Club selection, I must admit, I was astonished. Toni Morrison, Barbara Kingsolver, Wally Lamb, and... well... you, my prevaricating little friend. As someone currently enrolled in a fairly well-thought of MFA program in Creative Writing, I can tell you -- your prose leaves something to be desired. Something like, oh, say... style. Something like poetry. Something like an original thought that wasn't "ripped from the headlines" or "borrowed" from someone else's life.

After I passed the book on to the next unwitting victim, your book continued to both haunt me, and give me hope, all at the same time. Because I realized that, while I'll never get back that 3 or 4 hours I pissed away reading that awful piece of drek you call a book, I have the comfort of knowing that if James Frey can get published, then anyone can get published. And this fuels my own creative fire. I write fiction, too, by the way. Of course, I actually call it fiction, which is the difference between us.

So, there you go. It isn't all bad. You've given me hope for my future. See you at the next AWP convention.

~C.A. Sowards~

* Send letters for James to jamesfreyowesmemoney@gmail.com.

Dear James, Don't worry about it, Buddy.

Your book was great – people take things way too seriously. I’m pretty much willing to bet that no book published as “non-fiction” contains the complete truth – right down to history text books from high school.

I look forward to reading your next book.

* Send letters for James to jamesfreyowesmemoney@gmail.com.

Dear James, this is a waste.

I think this whole thing is ridiculous and ignorant. Literature has always had "creative license" ; this hysteria is hypocritical and a sad statement on the condition of respect for creativity and imagination as a way of communicating in this shallow single minded culture.

* Send letters for James to jamesfreyowesmemoney@gmail.com.

Dear James, Keep on truckin'.

You're a magnificent writer. Oprah behaved like a Pharisee. Please. Keep. Writing. It'll all pass sugar.

Sincerely, catherine alpern

* Send letters for James to jamesfreyowesmemoney@gmail.com.

Dear James, Wipe that stupid sad eyed look off your face and take it like a man......

I bought your book in the airport on the way to the UK. The only reason I didn’t take it back for a refund as soon as I read the first little bit was because I was already in the air. Any FOOL should know that no-one could get on a flight in the condition you said you were. My husband is a published author of a few non-fiction books. We know the process. How could NO-ONE in the publishing process not have seriously doubted your integrity and raised questions about your lies? Because they are money hungry scum, too. You were lucky enough to fall in with a bunch of people just as sorry as you are. I’m glad to see you all embarrassed and looking like a bunch of fools. Not that I seriously think any of you have learned anything from it. Because if you’re sorry enough to do this kind of thing to begin with then that tells me all I need to know about your ethics and basic personality. I’ve always believed that one always ends up getting what they deserve in the long run. You will, too. This is only the beginning.

* Send letters for James to jamesfreyowesmemoney@gmail.com.

Dear James, The public needs to get over it.

I am disgusted by how so many people have gotten on the band wagon to denounce someone who has done well as a writer. If you were an addict who wrote an autobiographical piece there would have to be some parts that were embellished, no addict can remember everything. That is what writing is about. I highly doubt that there are any bio’s out there that are 100% fact that would entertain and sell as much as yours did. Your readers paid for the good time, now they need to stop acting like a girl who went home with a guy at a bar and feels pissed because when he said “I love you” during sex he wasn’t telling the truth.

Nicole

* Send letters for James to jamesfreyowesmemoney@gmail.com.

Dear Jimmy, It's time to "work the Steps".

Step 8: Make a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

Step 9: Make direct amends to such people wherever possible except when doing so would injure them or others.

Jimmy, I am one of those spineless, no will of my own, addicts who goes to a 12-step fellowship, NA (Narcotics Anonymous.)

As we study the steps and share with each other there is one theme that comes up again and again. Honesty. Honesty with ourselves, honesty with others. As addicts we all acknowledge we were pathetic liars. We lied without even thinking about it. It became a way of life for us. So Jimmy, we KNOW who you are.

But Jimmy, something happens to us as we work though the steps. For us it seems almost to be a miracle. We learn how NOT to lie. We discover how lying has hurt the people around us. And we find that lying to ourselves has devalued us. We find that we feel a lot better if we just keep it real.

Beyond that Jimmy, we make amends. We reach out. We try and find those we have hurt. The people we have stolen from, people we lied to. And we "make it right" the very best way that we can. It is amazing the weight this process lifts from us Jimmy.

If we stole money from them, we pay it back, even if it takes years. If we lied to them, we say "I'm sorry I lied" without all the BS reasons why. And we try to repair the damage that lie caused. And you know Jimmy, I'm thinking that if we sold a book that was filled with lies and BS. We would find a way to make that right too. We would get the money back to those we defrauded. Or at least give the ill gotten profits to an addiction charity.

But you see Jimmy, we're just pussies when compared to you. We asked a higher power (of our own understanding) for help. We worked the steps. We made our amends. And the weight was lifted from us.

However Jimmy, you, the "tough guy" worked your recovery "your way." No steps, no meetings, no "Big Book", no higher power, no amends. Just balls to the walls John Wayne-ism "I'm not gonna use." You're not "using" now (if we can believe you) but you are carrying that weight. That weight can be very humbling, it can bring you to your knees just when you think you're at the top of your game. It's called "relapse" Jimmy. Keep carrying that weight brother. We'll probably see you in a "step meeting" sometime years from now. Then you will be willing to make YOUR amends. And maybe THEN you'll offer to give my money back for your fictional book.

How do I know this? Because I was a "Jimmy." A tough guy. I knew I could "do it myself." There are lots of us "Jimmys" in NA, CA and AA. We're waiting for you Jimmy. You'll be here someday. And you'll tell us how you weren't the "tough guy" you presented in the book. But the "weak guy" who could only get by in life by lying. We'll listen, as you tell us how your "deal with the devil" was the money from that book for your integrity and piece of mind.

Perhaps then your amends will be an honest book, with an honest title. "How I Really Fucked Up My First Recovery And Damaged Addicts Who Trusted My BS"

Or are you just going to get that "check in the mail" to me?

--------------------------------------
Ed in Florida

* Send letters for James to jamesfreyowesmemoney@gmail.com.

Dear James, you are the literary George Bush.

A rich mama's boy who "acts" tough.

* Send letters for James to jamesfreyowesmemoney@gmail.com.