A Million Little Pieces

Title: A Million Little Pieces

Author: James Frey

Publisher: Random House

Copyright Year:

Main Characters: James, Leonard, Lilly, Miles, Hank

Setting: A Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation facility

Main theme: How a person deals with drug and alcohol addiction while in an institution

Summary Chapter 1-5:

The book opens with the narrator, James, waking up on an airplane. He is bleeding, missing four teeth, and has a broken nose. He doesn't know how he got these injuries or where he is going. They tell him that a concerned friend of his contacted them and that his injuries were the result of a fall down a fire escape. James has no recollection of this. James's parents and brother drive him to a rehabilitation clinic. James has three roommates--Larry, Warren, and John. James believes that it's better if no one gets too close to him, since he views himself as a destructive, damaging force with very little to contribute to anyone's life. He is convinced that believing in AA is just exchanging one addiction for another. He embarks on his journey in rehab, always thinking at anytime that he will be leaving because rehab is 'not for him'. Not a good start seeing how badly he needs some kind of help.

Summary Chapter 6-10:

James's brother Bob and two friends, Julie and Kirk, come to visit him at the clinic. They bring him presents: cigarettes, chocolate, clothes, and books. They watch some football together and then go for a walk in the woods, where they meet Lilly and her grandmother. Bob, Julie, and Kirk urge James to try and get better and give him a list of people who have asked about him. Lilly is a girl that James meets in the clinic although he has little to no contact with her besides fleeting visits that they chance every here and there. The next day James's new job is making coffee for the group, a clear sign that he has progressed and moved further up the clinic ladder. James's psychology test results reveal that he is highly intelligent and angry and has low self-esteem. Joanne, (his therapist) tries to convince him to accept the Twelve Step program, which is solely accountable for the success rate of the facility, but James refuses.

Summary Chapter 11-15:

Joanne and James talk about the Twelve Step program. James still refuses to follow it. He hints that he does not like churches and priests. Joanne insists that the program is not about God. James is being stubborn in his beliefs, however he seems to be coming around somewhat. As life settles into a routine for James at the facility, he begins to explore more spiritual questions and seek deeper answers than he's pursued before. Joanne's conversation with James sets the stage for him to question the idea of a faith and a God who may be able to help him through the process of healing. But it's not until Ken reveals that his parents are arriving that James really feels a need to find a calm place.

Summary Chapter 16-20:

James meets with his Parents and finds out that he is wanted in many different states for many minor and some major warrants. He starts to fear what will happen to him when he leaves the clinic, and at this point decides it is not worth the worry as he probably won't make it out alive as it is.

Summary Chapter 21-25

James finds out that Lilly's grandmother is very sick and Lilly leaves the rehab facility to go and get high. James leaves the clinic without a word and encounters Hank outside and Hank decides to help him drive to a crack house to retrieve Lilly. James finds Lilly and gets in to an altercation with the crack dealer and picks Lilly up and carries her out to the van. Lilly is disgusted with herself and ashamed of what James may think of her now. They get back to the clinic and they let James and Lilly back in with little explanation.

Summary Chapter 26-30

James' time at the

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