James Frey on Designing Your Life to Bring Joy

In 2003, when the author James Frey published his first book, A Million Little Pieces—a gut-punch account of his experience with addiction and rehab—nobody could have expected what would come next. Thanks to an Oprah Book Club endorsement, A Million Little Pieces was instantly catapulted to bestseller status, but soon blew up in scandal after Frey admitted to having falsified certain portions of the book, which had been marketed as a memoir. The drama that ensued sparked a media controversy—one that now, around 20 years later, feels petty and misplaced, especially in the context of today’s cancel-culture climate. More than 10 million copies of A Million Little Pieces have sold since, and Frey is still at it, writing, publishing, and pushing the boundaries of his art. His latest novel, Next to Heaven, is a rollicking, raunchy, absurd-yet-not satire about money, murder, and the all-too-human desires for power, pleasure, and greed. 

On the episode—our Season 11 finale, in which Frey sat lotus for the entire duration—he reflects on the A Million Little Pieces saga; his long-term study of Taoism; writing as a gateway to vulnerability; and why love, for him, is the greatest drug there is.

Special thanks to our Season 11 presenting sponsor, Van Cleef & Arpels.

Show notes:
James Frey

[5:08] “Tao Te Ching”

[5:08] Lao Tzu

[5:08] Stephen Mitchell

[5:08] Taoism

[8:51] Cubism

[13:11] “A Million Little Pieces” (2003)

[14:16] “Next To Heaven” (2025)

[14:16] New Canaan, Connecticut

[17:14] Jackie Collins

[17:14] “Hollywood Wives” (1983)

[17:14] Danielle Steel

[21:35] Honoré de Balzac

[29:37] “Katerina” (2018) 

[29:37] “Full Fathom Five” (1947) by Jackson Pollock

[37:14] “Larry King Live” (2006)

[39:09] “Tropic of Cancer” (1971)

[42:24] “Up to Me” (1985)

[44:20] “Kissing a Fool” (1998)

[52:22] “My Friend Leonard” (2005)

[52:22] “Bright Shiny Morning” (2008)

[52:22] “The Final Testament” (2011)

[58:56] “Author Is Kicked Out of Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club”

[58:56] “James Frey: ‘I Always Wanted to Be the Outlaw’”

[01:03:18] Bret Easton Ellis

[01:03:18] Jay McInerney

[01:03:18] Norman Mailer

[01:10:54] Rashid Johnson

[01:10:54] HBO’s “Native Son” (2019)