My friend Leonard by James Frey

This is the follow on novel from "A Million Little Pieces" that basically tells the reader about what happened after he got out of the rehab center and has done his time in prison. I found the first book to be amazing and therefore expected nothing less of the second book, and boy was I not let down. He really goes into depth and detail with the book, in that he really does seem to put his whole self and heart into the words. Its almost as if he wants the reader to learn from his experiences, to see that strength can come from the downfalls and that when we fall over there is always a solution to the problem to help us back up that isnt negative or necessarily bad for us. At the beginning though he does make a note that some of the book is fiction adn I think that takes a lot of bravery and courage to write, because it does show that he still wanted to protect his life and privacy, and of course he has every right to do that.

There is a lot of power and emotion in the words though, that touches you right from the beginning. And in several places the book made me cry and made me laugh, made me smile and made me hate. He really goes into depth and detail with his words in that he makes it come alive. He pulls the reader into the scene, makes them vision the book and feel the book and for me that represents a true author, one who knows how to connect with his readers and who is passionate and dedicated to there work. For me the book represented strength and downfalls though. It showed that life is likely to knock us about with the unexpected and that we have to seek support from the mechanisms that are around us and I suppose in a way that makes the reader really think about the life that they have and what they have to grab on. We do take life for granted and we do expect things to just be given to us, but we have to work for things, we have to show that we are worthy of the life that we are given and this is something that james does.

Although at the beginning it seems that he has it easy because Leonard is there to help him out, he does show that actually he doesnt want to cause problems, that he just wants to be a normal person living a normal life and doding things for himself. And this is something that I commend him for. However it is the story of leonard that is touching and real, because he is a man of soul and heart. a troubled man none the less, but a person who just wants to live life to the fullest and make sure that all those that he loves are ok, safe and well off and away from danger. He reminds me of the sort of person that would make a great father or great grand father. He shows dedication to james who he adopts as his son and he shows just how much he is willing to help him out.

It is sad though that in the book two characters are lost, but it is the death of leonard that really grasps you because it is done in such a strong and powerful way. he is not doing it to be selfish, but because he has done everything that he needs to do and he knows that it is time. I just feel that james offers the reader a lot of lessons with his words here and it touches me in ways that I can not intentionally express to you. perhaps it is one of those books that you have to read in order to understand it fully, perhaps it is one of those books that will mean something different to every reader. but it is a worthwhile read!