What exactly is the 'emotional truth'?

About two years ago a book came out that I almost picked up. It had freaky-looking cover art and was a memoir. At the time, that's all I really looked for in a book.

Since I started reading David Sedaris books about that time, I started looking for other humorous memoirists. I stumbled upon Augusten Burroughs who was both funny and so utterly sad that my childhood looked perfect in comparison. Let's all admit it: the best memoirs make us feel better about ourselves and most do it because we're damn glad NOT to have gone through what the author has.

Anyway, I almost picked up James Frey's A Million Little Pieces because it was related to Augusten Burroughs (a memoir about addiction), but I heard it wasn't all that funny. So I put it down and didn't think about it again...until Oprah thought about it.

Last Fall, she picked the book as her next book club selection. I breathed a sigh of relief from having avoided it. Only once have I read an Oprah selection and that was because she picked the book AFTER I had read it. I really don't want to read anything that would remotely be considered"uplifting," "inspiring" or anything that claimed to have an effect on my "soul" or "spirit." I'm not that kind of girl.

However, she picked the book; Frey lied about what happened to him and got caught. What happens? First Oprah supported him because the book conveyed the "emotional truth." What the hell is the "emotional truth"? How can you "emotionally lie"? Is there an "emotional lie detector"?

Then she gets so many emails from people pissed off that they bought the book that she invites Frey on the show to berate him publicly and resend her previous defense of the book.

Here's what I don't get: Hundreds of customers are calling to get their money back. They know they only bought the book because Oprah told them to. The book was supposed to entertain. Did it do that? Yes. If you read it, then you got your money's worth.

Thousands of people are going to see "Munich" right now. Many of them believe that everything that happens in the movie is true because it was "based on true events." Should they get their money back too? A memoir is not a documentary or non-fiction piece. There isn't a lot of supporting statistics or studies that can validate an anecdote. People, you bought the book. Get over it.