According to the interview, controversy over the book "A Million Little Pieces"

W: Tonight, exclusive, the controversial book everyone is talking about, "A Million Little Pieces." The biggest non-fiction seller of last year. But is it some kind of fraud? Now, author James Frey’s first interview on the sensational claims against his memoir of addiction and rehabilitation. He’s here for the hour. Welcome, James.
M: Thanks.
W: What’s your side, James?
M: My side is I wrote a memoir. I never expected the book to come under the type of scrutiny that it has. A memoir literally means my story. A memoir is a subjective retelling of events.
W: But it is supposed to be factual events. The memoir is a form of biography.
M: Yes. Memoir is within the genre of non-fiction. I don’t think it’s necessarily appropriate to say I’ve cheated anyone. The book is 432 pages long. The total page count of disputed events is 18, which is less than five percent of the total book. You know, that falls comfortably within the realm of what’s appropriate for a memoir.
W: James, with the kind of incredible life you’ve had, why embellish anything?
M: I mean, I’ve acknowledged that there were embellishments in the book, that I’ve changed tilings, that in certain cases things were toned up, in certain cases things were toned down, that names were changed, that identifying characteristics were changed. There’s a great debate about memoir and about what should be most properly served, the story or some form of journalistic truth. Memoirs don’t generally come under the type of scrutiny that mine has.
W: People reading a memoir expect it to be a true story, whether it’s Alan Alda doing a memoir of his life or James Frey doing a memoir of his, that the facts written down as they happened or their perception of their happening.
M: It’s an individual’s perception of what happened in their own life. This is my recollection of my life. A lot of the events I was writing about took place between 15 and 25 years ago. A lot of the events took place while I was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. I still stand by my book. I still stand by the fact that it’s my story. It’s a truthful retelling of the story.
W: Are you surprised at the furor?
M: I am surprised. I’ve been surprised over and over again throughout this whole process. I’ve been surprised by the success of the book. I’ve been surprised by the reaction to the book. I’ve been surprised by the furor related to the book, especially considering I acknowledged that I had changed things.
W: You did at the beginning?
M: I have at various points all along the course of the publication and promotion of the book.
W: Did you tell Oprah that?
M: I don’t remember specifically what I told Oprah, I certainly told her producers that, you know, things were altered in the book, that I made changes to the book, that sometimes those changes were made in order to protect the identities of specific individuals. Sometimes things were changed because they were too ridiculous. Sometimes things were changed for simple reasons of efficiency. There’s one example of a change made where I talk about a gash I had, a cut that I received. In the book, I say I cut my cheek. In reality, what happened is when I fell down, my lower teeth tore up my lip and penetrated it in two separate places. I received the stitches I talked about receiving, but in the book I say, I cut my cheek.
W: Why?
M: Because it’s a lot easier than saying over and over again that I cut the area between my lower lip and my chin. You know, I believe that the essential truth of the event remains, there it’s a large cut on my face.
W: Are you saying that essential truth of this book, you stand by 100 percent?
M: Absolutely. The book is about drug and alcohol addiction.
W: Of which you were addicted to both?
M: Yes. Nobody’s disputing that I was an addict or alcoholic. Nobody was disputing that I spent a significant period of time in a treatment center. Five pages at the beginning of the book and five pages at the end of the book are the only parts that don’t take place in a treatment center.
W: well, take a break. We’ll be right back.