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Adult Books - Nonfiction - Social Sciences
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My Friend Leonard.
Frey, James (author).
June 2005. 352p. Riverhead, hardcover, $24.95 (1-57322-315-8). 362.29.
REVIEW.
First published June 1, 2005 (Booklist).
Frey’s first memoir, A Million Little Pieces (2003), chronicled his stint in rehab at age 23 after years of drug and alcohol addiction. That struggle continues in his follow-up, which opens at the end of Frey’s three-month jail sentence. Upon release, Frey was hopeful: he was headed to Chicago to join the woman he fell in love with in rehab, Lilly, and start a new life. But devastating news awaited him in Chicago, and Frey found himself tempted to march into the nearest bar. He bought a bottle of cheap wine, which he managed not to open, and turned to his friend Leonard, a charming, gentlemanly mobster whom Frey met in rehab. Leonard thought of Frey as his son and was willing to do anything to help him. Leonard gave Frey a questionable but lucrative job delivering packages, and encouraged and bolstered Frey, until a personal secret caused Leonard to withdraw from his friends and associates. Never one to mince words, Frey lays bare even his most private and personal musings, making this a raw, often visceral, reading experience. With Frey’s emotions so close to the surface, it’s impossible not to care about Frey’s struggles to reintegrate into society and prosper. Another powerful read from a talented, dynamic author. — Kristine Huntley
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