James Frey On Getting Canceled by Oprah and How He Moved On

In his aimless youth, the author James Frey yearned to be the Sex Pistols of literature. Then he learned to be careful what you wish for. His memoir, A Million Little Pieces, shot to the top of bestseller lists, thanks in part to Oprah's endorsement. Then fact-checkers unmasked its fabrications, and James found himself being more of an outcast than he’d planned for. Nearly 20 years later, when the line between fact and fiction is more blurred than ever, Frey may seem like more of a pioneer than a pariah. Together, we reflect on what it was like to face and overcome this public pain, and the inspiration behind his new novel Next to Heaven, a provocative murder mystery skewering the wealthy New England town he calls home. Find exactly what you’re booking for. Booking.com, Booking.YEAH! Book today on the site or in the app. 🔗 Listen to more episodes: 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5P9SJGo... 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🌐 All platforms: https://lemonada.lnk.to/failbetterYT 📺 Subscribe for new videos every Thursday:    / @failbetterwithdavidduchovny   📬 Join our newsletter for Fail Better news and updates: https://lemonadamedia.com/newsletter/ 📲 Follow Lemonada on social media @lemonadamedia 📲 Follow David on Instagram @davidduchovny For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. 0:00 Intro 1:48 Growing up a punk 5:03 Trying and failing 7:40 The Oprah incident 17:00 Fact vs fiction 24:10 Addiction and Taoism 31:54 Mentoring writers 34:51 Next to Heaven 44:45 Gender and sexual politics 49:26 Parting wisdom