i try to pretend that i'm not counting the days, but i am counting the days. i'm counting everything. it's in my nature to take inventory, or so it seems.
six months
five months
three weeks
two weeks
three days
also...
i went to indigo last week and was looking around at books. i picked up one that sort of caught my eye because there was a photo of what appeared to be a vanilla dip donut from tim horton's on the cover. being that i love donuts, as well as colourful sprinkles, i picked it up and read the back. the little blurb told me that the book was about some guy's six week stint in rehab. always a sucker for reclamation projects (just browse the archives for my romantic history, that's all the proof you need), i decided to buy it. i read the 430 pages in three sittings, all of which found me awake and in awe at 4am+ in the morning. while reading it, it occurred to me more than once that no matter how bad i think my life is, at least it's not as bad as THATGUY's. page after page of brutal, blunt, deadpan language describing the absolute horror show and complete loss of self that occurs in the midst of powerful, all encompassing, life-swallowing drug and alcohol addiction. the story and the style of writing had me in a trance. i've never read a book where i sympathized more or cared more about a central character who was so volatile and just down-right BAD. when asked to describe the book, all i could muster up was, "it's just...unbelievable".
turns out "unbelievable" was more accurate than i could have anticipated. with a mere forty pages to go, i had to put the book down to go and greet miss vic, whom i was meeting for dinner. before we left, i told her that i was reading "this incredible book...!" and i showed it to her. she asked me if it was one of oprah's book club books, to which i replied, "yes, but i peeled off the oprah sticker before i bought it so i wouldn't look like an IDIOT reading it in public". she proceeded to let me in on a few things, which many of you may already have guessed at this point. the book is "a million little pieces" by james frey and, as it turns out, a lot of it is bullshit. frey apparently is standing by his book, however- all kinds of interesting little factoids have popped out of the woodwork alledging that the book is full of lies and embellishments. so it looks like i'll look like and IDIOT with or without the stupid oprah sticker.
long story short: i bought this book knowing nothing about it, other than the fact that it was non-fiction. i read this book knowing nothing about it, and believed the words of the author. it's like reading someone's diary. you are made privy to the intimate details of a person's life and it's as though you know them or something. in light of all this, i can't help but feel tricked.
and, oddly enough- a little bit heartbroken.
man, i'm just so gullible sometimes it hurts.
i keep telling myself
i keep telling myself
i'm not the desperate type
but you've got me looking in through blinds