Week 7 Prompt

I read The Smoking Gun (TSG) article about James Frey titled "A Million Little Lies." I had heard about the author and that the book was considered to be fictitious, but I did not know any details. I have not read this book. I found the article to be fascinating; really, I was hanging on every word. I find fake memoirs intriguing.
Ultimately, I had conflicting feelings about the author and this work. The book was chosen as part of Oprah's Book Club and it became somewhat of a phenomenon, including Oprah's employees at Harpo Studios. They are quoted in the article as saying, "...we were staying up late at night reading it, we'd come in the next morning saying, 'What page are you on?'" In emotional filmed testimonials, employees of Winfrey's Harpo Productions lauded the book as revelatory, with some choking back tears." This book seems like it is brimming with powerful emotions and inspirations. 
TSG conducted a six-week investigation on Frey's book, delving into his claims and uncovering hard facts about his true life. They found that police reports, court records, interviews with law enforcement personnel, and other sources have put the lie to many key sections of Frey's book. According to the article, "the 36-year-old author, these documents and interviews show, wholly fabricated or wildly embellished details of his purported criminal career, jail terms, and status as an outlaw."
When I first started reading the article, I felt like it was unfair of Frey to pose as someone who had fought his way out of the depths of the hell of addiction to recovery and becoming a bestselling author. One of the more loathsome lies that was uncovered by TSG was regarding a car accident that killed two girls that attended Frey's high school. Frey wrote that he was close with one of the girls who died in the accident, and that due to circumstances leading up to the accident, the whole town turned against him and blamed him for the tragedy. What TSG uncovered in their research was that, according to the girl's parents, Frey had no relationship with their daughter, and the police stated he had no connection to the victims- he was never even interviewed by the police. Frey seemingly used this event to push his agenda, which is inexcusable. 
As of January 2006, A Million Little Pieces "had sold more than 3.5 million copies and, thanks to Winfrey, sat atop The New York Times nonfiction paperback best seller list for 15 weeks. Next to the latest Harry Potter title, Nielsen BookScan reported that Frey's book sold more copies in the U.S. in 2005--1.77 million--than any other title, with the majority of that total coming after Winfrey's selection." This book had tremendous reach and popularity. 
So, on the other hand, if Frey's so-called recovery and his sharing of the horrors of his life has prompted people to seek help for their addictions, can it really be all bad even if the stories are embellished or downright false? I don't think so. But, I also do not think it should be labeled a memoir. I believe that dims the light of actual memoirs that are actually true that deal with the same issues.