The link was supposed to be for the AbbyG’s blogspot. The link will still take you there…

As far as James Frey, see
The best of everything to you and yours! Don’t sweat the petty people! They’re petty.

One thing I’d like to say to some others: I agree if the writer states they will not post email addresses, they should not post them. However, just because someone has a site on the internet does not mean they must condone vitriolic comments by any joe schmoe who wanders by.

I can have an open house party but if one of the guests becomes rude, it does not mean that I have to let them stay there. I can say remark on their comment and tell them to leave. This is Alli’s site. Period.

Jen

Also, here’s a little quote:
“Mail (will not be published) (required)”
I got that from the comments form on this very website. Maybe you should take part out.

If you don’t react well to criticism of any kind, then posting your story on the internet could be a really bad idea. Opening a blog to comments is not just one big ego trip and it is unreasonable to retaliate against people who post things you don’t like. His comment may have been rude, but what you did really crossed the line.

That said, I’m bothered by your reaction to some of the criticism offered in the comments. It’s frustrating when you say that you’ll post tonight and then don’t for almost a month. And your comments page says that email addresses won’t be published, but in your newest post you publish NJZachman’s FIVE times. What’s up with that?

There will always be people who don’t believe. But if you don’t keep your word, then people start to doubt they can trust you.

Anyway…I believe your story and think you’re pretty brave to post it and open yourself up to doubt and criticism. Hang in there. Blessings and peace to you and your family.

Great to get the update, and I hope all is great with the new home and (growing) family and such. I’ll probably be moving as well soon (from Dallas to Albuquerque), I know…a random comment, but I thought I’d share anyway.

PLEASE sign me up for getting a password to read the rest of the story!!!

(hugs),
ariK

Take care!!

Best to ya Alli, you take care,
K.

Circumcision may be medically unnecessary, but do you want your kid to be nicknamed “burrito dick” for the rest of his life after the other kids see him in the locker room? I’d wager that the psychological scarring is far worse than the removal of an extraneous piece of skin.

Oh, never mind. You’re a woman (or a Frenchman). You couldn’t possibly understand

Either post your story or say the the real reason why you won’t. Either way…… do something.

I’ve been following your story for a while now. I’m very glad to hear that you and your husband are expecting a dear little boy. Please take the time to research everything you can about routine infant circumcision. It is a medically unnecessary procedure that does absolutely nothing to improve the health or quality of life of boys. I’m not trying to take over your webpage, but this is an extremely important issue that I wanted to bring to your attention. You seem like the kind of person who is always fighting for the rights of others to peacefully exist, please let that right extend to infants as well.

Sincerely,
~Nay

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/17/bootcamp.death.ap/index.html

Here’s another reason to continue with your story:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/17/bootcamp.death.ap/index.html

Alli, I too have been on the edge of my seat awaiting the story’s conclusion (and have occasionally left comments indicating as much), but ya know what? LIFE HAPPENS. Funny thing, eh? (Note the sarcasm dripping from my words). You obviously have many terrific things happening for you right now, and juggling everything can be nuts, as most of us here understand. Blogging can be a real bitch when you’re busy, stressed, and otherwise “living” (I’ve become very erratic with my blog due to several things, both good and bad, swirling around my life at the moment), so don’t sweat it.

Best,
ariK

As far as your story goes, I’ve believed every word (and I also believed every word of James Frey when I read his book) but I think absolutely some people’s reactions will be that they think you’re full of it. You just have to decide whether that actually matters to you. I don’t think the “press” has made James Frey look bad, just his publishing company. He’s sold more books since the Smoking Gun’s article was released.

Having said that, I’ve been reading your posts since last summer and have been riveted. I lived in Utah when all those torture camps were popular (and not yet known to be the torture chambers they actually were) so I felt a connection to your story. I have a pretty strong BS detector and it didn’t go off for you. As soon as I saw James Frey speak, it was going off like crazy.

Anyway, you can’t control what other people do or say or think. You can only be honest and put things out there. If others don’t like it, that’s their problem. Frey’s problem is that he lied and lied and lied and then got caught. Just tell the truth and you’ll be all right.

When it comes to posting, if it were me, I would look at it as a matter of prioritization. What’s more important… Taking care of the family that loves you and the child that’s growing in your womb, or posting more blog entries and hoping that you don’t have to put up with a bunch of negative emails/comments as a result of that? (And I wasn’t directed at you, Enigma…)

Personally, I’ve never got the impression that the sole motivator behind this book was the cash that she could make from it. Yeah, that’s probably significant, but it’s secondary to simply getting her story out there, I would think.

Alli’s never struck me as the kind of person to wear her experiences like a badge of honor or anything like that… and I’m not sure that she’s looking for heaps of praise and sympathy either. Probably the main focus is simply increasing the awareness of what goes on in these camps, as well as supplying a foundation of understanding and support for others who have been through similiar experiences.

That last bit probably goes both ways. When a person goes through these experiences and has to spend 15 or so years trying to cope, being understood and knowing that other people respect you for what you’ve been through (and maybe can relate) can become a key part to ‘moving on’ and accepting the past…

If the person doesn’t have that, it can become a habbit to try to justify or defend, by way of explanation, the things that they’ve experienced as well as why they maybe didn’t do things differently… the end result being that the person gets lost in the details of their past and maybe may feel like the situation is never brought to a close.

I don’t know if that applies to Alli at all, but if it does, publishing a book would probably help with the explanation part.

Ultimately, putting any kind of pressure on Alli to do one thing or the other isn’t going to help her. She needs the room to be able to do this at her own pace, when she feels comfortable with it. In the meantime, the best thing anybody can do is to offer their support and be patient with her.

Having said all of that, it’s only my opinion… I obviously don’t speak for anybody else and I understand if not everybody agrees with me… just thought I’d throw it out there.

Peace.

-Mike

I know lives get hectic but I also blog a bit and tell very intense real stories about my own life. I never plan on marketing my stories so I do not care about things like public investigation.

I think you saw this as a chance to make some cash. And there is nothing wrong with making cash this way at all. It just seems like to me that you should declare that this blog is over or step up to the plate and publish the work that you state is already completed.

One way or the other…. Do something.

Congrats on the baby boy! Your story is your story true or otherwise. If some don’t buy it, c’est la vie. Screw them.
Now, when are you publishing the rest? I like the idea of an index at the end.

Your friend,
LIz

Congrats on your baby BOY!!!!

-Kelsey

I would also like to congratulate you on the baby ! what ever sex it is.

I second this person:

“Let’s face it: those of us like you and me who don’t lie can hold up to such scrutiny and have nothing to fear, so screw what anyone else says.”

The Frey case means that publishers will make more efforts to check out memoirs now. So anything that gets published will have gone through the process, and people will trust it. They still do trust MOST memoirs.

You have your journals, you have other people who went through the camps, and you have a lot of capacity for remembering the most important details.

Your book will help other people. If you want to write it, write it!

And as I suggested, when people ask (good) questions here, you could always include an index at the end filling in some of the details people want to know.

Yeah? Well how many kids got kidnapped from their beds at night behind the rear that he generated among parents of kids headed for just his frat life??

Huloooo! Wake the hell up!

One thing you have to know if you plan on writing a book, if you claim it is the truth, it will be investigated.

So I ask you, Alli….isn’t that exactly what you want? There is no reason to fear when you tell the truth. People will be skeptical, they will dig down and find out if you are telling the truth or not and when they come up with the results of their investigation, perhaps some things that need to happen will happen.

You say your story is true…there is a LOT of crime going on in this story. People need to pay for those crimes. Investigations in to these kinds of “camps” need to be done and the truth revealed. LET them doubt..and then let them see the truth and watch how you made a difference.

Use your strength, keep a thick skin, don’t take it personal if someone doubts you..they don’t know you…it’s not personal…and relax.

So, if you’re ever interviewed after your book comes out, be picky about who you interview with.

You have already helped some save themselves and 1 that we know of that read this and she changed her mind about sending her son to a camp.

That is wonderful!!

Congrats on the baby boy!!

Just tell your own story. (And bless you for it.)

If you choose to write this story, fact, fiction or any combination thereof, that is your business. MY OPINION: the story you tell seems a combination thereof. Your writing style is good. Best wishes!

No kidding I thought, “when Alli is writing her book, the publisher might give her a hard time about proving everything when she writes it.”

Then I realized I hadn’t stopped by your site for a while and decided to see if you’ve added a new entry.
And here you are writing an entry about Frey and what effect it will have on your book. I think I must be psychic ;P

Listen, you’ve said you are going off of the journals you’ve kept. As long as you stay true to that, then all is well.

Frey admitted to switching details to protect people’s identities who were in the book and filling in the blanks where he couldn’t remember certain facts.

Alli, you aren’t doing those things. You are going off of your journals and I’m sure if you couldn’t remember something, you wouldn’t fill in the blank with a lie, or lie to make a situation more dramatic like Frey did.

I wouldn’t worry about the reprecussions (sp?) of Frey’s book. Or what people think of your stories for that matter.

Write honestly and no one can tear down what you’ve written.

I find the whole controversy surrounding James Frey silly. If he helped one person *and many have backed him that he has helped MORE than one* then why the outcry? I believe everyone has different recollections of the past. If you had 10 people in the same room encounter a situation, you would hear 10 different accounts of what actually happened. Each and every person has a distinct personality and mindset, which would allow them to see things in a different way. It is what makes us individuals. Some people could convey there memories in one sentence…others in a page full of thoughts.

A person who posted by the name of Laura on January 19th said that you prevented her from sending her son to a boot camp. Isn’t that one person that was helped by reading your story proof enough that your words are indeed important?

Screw the sharks who look to find fault in others. In this day and age, it is so sad to see so many people out to hurt their fellow man.

I liked James Freys book. I don’t care whether it was truth or fiction. Did he embellish his story, admittedly yes. Does it change the basis of the story no.

There are stories in my family that are exchanged over the years since I was a small child. Most of them funny situations and family doings. Over the years they get funnier and more absurd. My extended family is very large. To hear my cousin tell the same story that I heard years ago makes me laugh, because each year it gets bigger and better. Does it matter in the long run? No…because the base of the story is true.

I hope that you one day publish your story. I will recommend it to everyone. To save yourself the unfair pain and humiliation that poor James has received, put a simple disclaimer in there reading…these are my thoughts and words AS I REMEMBER them…screw the rest….

Love your blog and I’m happy to hear that you are moving on in your life! Congrats!

Diane, Wisconsin

Let’s face it: those of us like you and me who don’t lie can hold up to such scrutiny and have nothing to fear, so screw what anyone else says. Naysayers lurk everywhere and cannot be avoided, so ignore ‘em. James is a different case altogether though: he twisted everything well beyond reality, and for that the criticisms against him are well-deserved.