Oprah: Why did you lie? Why did you have to lie about the time you spent in jail? Why did you do that?
James: I think one of the coping mechanisms I developed was sort of this image of myself that was greater, probably, than—not probably—that was greater than what I actually was. In order to get through the experience of the addiction, I thought of myself as being tougher than I was and badder than I was—and it helped me cope. When I was writing the book … instead of being as introspective as I should have been, I clung to that image.
Oprah: And did you cling to that image because that's how you wanted to see yourself? Or did you cling to that image because that would make a better book?
James: Probably both.
How much of the book is fabricated? » |
