In "Cather in the Rye", Holden Caulfield is presented with the following quote by psychiatrist Wilhelm Stekel: "The mark of an immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one." Holden seemed too immature to fully wrap his mind around that advice. He would have probably kept fighting and kept falling until he really bottomed out. His stubbornness and distaste for phonies would have kept fueling the fire within him. Chances are he would have eventually tried to numb his pain with drugs and alcohol. Enter "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. Frey's pseudo-memoir about his struggles with addiction and his time in rehab could very easily be read as the next chapter of Holden's life. Frey even kind of talks like Holden. Give it a read. Both are great pieces of fiction.
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