I never read the book, but I wasn't at all surprised to learn that he made a lot of the more dramatic stuff up. I've known quite a few people in recovery who fabricated their story like that--they talk about doing more drugs and booze than they actually did, talk about law enforcement troubles they never had, etc. It's all delivered with this "Wasn't I just terrible!" attitude and then a twinkle in the eye that suggests that deep down they're glorifying themselves, too.