JAMES FREY
ADDICTION, CELEBRITY, PUBLIC SHAMING & TRUTH: THE PERFORMANCE ART OF JAMES FREY, CELEBRATED WRITER OF ILL-REPUTE
In 2003, a book came out that rocked my world—a book that spoke to the deepest, darkest, and hidden parts of me in ways no other book ever had. At the time, I was a couple years sober after having blown my life up into a million little pieces.
I couldn’t believe this book said what it said. Reading it felt like someone was reading my mind—the parts I kept hidden and couldn’t imagine saying out loud.
My guest today is James Frey, the mysterious wizard who authored this sorcery. James had set out to become the bad boy of American literature. His heroes are Baudelaire and Henry Miller, writers like Hunter S. Thompson who wrote unapologetically and fearlessly. He wanted to be bold like them, crafting his own bad boy mythology.
This conversation explores his literary philosophy, the intersection of creativity and the Tao, and his approach to capturing inspiration—something he calls “prowling with the panther.”