Daily Prompt ~ Call Me Ishmael

 Daily Prompt: Call me Ishmael

Take the first sentence from your favorite book and make it the first sentence of your post.

“I wake to the drone of an airplane engine and feeling of something warm dripping down my chin, I lift my hand to feel my face.” 

This is the first line of A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. I wouldn’t necessarily say that this is my favorite book, but it is certainly one that had an impact. I read this after Oprah recommended it via her book club many moons ago. If Oprah said read it, we read it..right? 

Actually it wasn’t her recommendation that made be run out for my copy, it was seeing the reaction of Mr. Frey’s mother in the audience. She was beaming with pride that her son, her flesh and blood, created something so incredible that Oprah Winfrey was  willing to introduce it to the world. I never regretted this purchase.

In case you’re not aware of the back story of this book, I’ll fill you in on the sordid details. Apparently Mr. Frey implied that this was a biography, but long story short … it was not. A confession was made … blah, blah, blah. It didn’t matter to me whether it was a biography or a novel. It was a captivating tale of addiction, recovery, hope and forgiveness. 

It may not be the most well written piece if literature on the market, but it was a gripping tale and a great story that just happened to resonated with me at the time. It served its purpose by providing awareness and understanding about a disease that found its way into my family. 

I did go on to read his next book My Friend Leonard and enjoyed that as well.

12 responses

  1. If you’d like to read a similar story, without the controversy of not being true. Read Cupcake by Cupcake Brown. It’s the true story of a young girl who grew up in the gangs of LA. Drugs, beatings, shootings, etc. The way she managed to turn her life around is astounding and beautiful. I couldn’t put it down.

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    1. Thanks Jennifer! Will do for sure.

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  2. It’s so nice to read that despite it not being the best written that you enjoyed it. That speaks a lot for the story itself and got me interested. Thank you.

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    1. You are welcome. Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. love the fact you bought the book because of the mother. our mother’s hearts… they get us every time. Glad you enjoyed the book. thanks for sharing this! DAF

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    1. Thanks DAF! Her reaction was so genuine it moved me.

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  4. Whether it was truth or not, his book helped and entertained a lot of people. Think if it had been labeled differently. Nice post Ishmael.

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  5. I’ve always wondered why people would lie or why anyone would care if he/she did. Did they read it for the story or as a historical text? People are so stupid.

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  6. free penny press | Reply

    I read that book and true or not, he’s a good storyteller and I was thoroughly entertained..

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  7. Reblogged this on cftc10.

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  8. Oh … the daily prompt … I should check that more often!
    Thanks for the recommendation about the book 🙂

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