Future hardcover and paperback editions of James Frey’s disputed memoir of addiction, “A Million Little Pieces,” will include a brief author’s note that refers to the content of the book, his publisher said Thursday.
Doubleday spokeswoman Alison Rich declined to offer details about the note or to comment on why it was being added. She would not say if the note was an acknowledgment often found in memoirs — but not in “A Million Little Pieces” — that names and events had been altered.
Frey has been under close scrutiny since The Smoking Gun, an investigative Web site (www.thesmokinggun.com), posted a story last Sunday alleging the author had substantially fabricated his criminal record and other aspects of his past.
Frey has acknowledged to The Smoking Gun that he embellished parts of the book and he said so again Wednesday night on “Larry King Live,” stating that alterations were common for memoirs and defending “the essential truth” of “A Million Little Pieces.”
“The book is about drug addiction and alcoholism,” he said. “The emotional truth is there.”
Frey’s book was first published in 2003 and became a sensation last fall after Oprah Winfrey selected it for her book club. On Wednesday night, Winfrey made a surprise phone call to King’s show and supported Frey.
“If you’re an addict whose life has been moved by this story and you feel that what James went through was able ... to help you hold on a little bit longer, and you connected to that, that is real. That is real,” she said. “And it’s ... irrelevant discussing, you know, what happened or did not happen to the police.”
Sales have remained high for “A Million Little Pieces,” which on Wednesday night topped the best seller list on Amazon.com.