Petrusso is a history and screenwriting scholar and freelance writer and editor. In this essay, Petrusso argues that the revelations surrounding Frey's exaggerations and falsifications in A Million Little Pieces change how the book is read and how to regard Frey's character therein. Instead of Frey as rebellious sober addict superhero, Frey becomes a star in a cautionary tale about hubris.

When James Frey's stark memoir of his intense recovery from drug and alcohol addiction was published in 2003, a number of critics praised the power of A Million Little Pieces, impressed with the tough yet effective way he described himself. Writing in the Boston Globe, John Freeman gushed, "Within a few pages, one feels as imprisoned in Frey's head as he was then—trapped, in fact, by his pain, his misery, his self-loathing, and his desire for drugs." Other early reviewers did detect some conceit in his...