The American Spectator

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Another Perspective

Now that the hysteria over the James Frey story is starting to die down, it's a good time to reveal the simple truth about this debacle.

Frey, the recovering addict whose book A Million Little Pieces has been revealed as a fraud, got caught playing the game called "one-downsmanship." The term comes from Douglas Coupland's book Generation X. It refers to the tendency in 12-step meetings to escalate one's miserable experiences to elicit admiration and sympathy from the audience.

The game is easy. Just go to some 12-step meeting like Alcoholics Anonymous, and when someone there shares about falling down some stairs, getting arrested, or kicking the dog, you have to top it. It goes something like this:

ALCOHOLIC #1: Hi, my name's Bob, and I'm an alcoholic.

GROUP: Hi Bob.

BOB: I'm really grateful to be here. I'm glad to be alive. I just got a new dog, a black lab. And watching him playin' in the backyard, I got to thinking about my old dog Moses. I used to come home drunk from Nathan's bar and I would kick Moses when I came through the door. It got to the point where he would be hiding in the closet when he heard me comin' up the front porch. Now it's a whole new life. My new dog is glad to see me come home. Thanks for lettin' me share.

GROUP: Thanks for sharing.

ALCOHOLIC #2: Hi, my name is Stan. I'm an alcoholic.

GROUP: Hi Stan.

STAN: Bob reminded me of something. I used to own three dogs. One night I got so drunk I forgot that they were in the car with the windows up.

GROUP: Gasp!

STAN: It was in the middle of the summer.

GROUP: Gasp!

STAN: Luckily I got them out in time. And it may sound silly, but I still cry about that.

GROUP: Not silly at all!!

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