book review friends lovers and the big terrible thing

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Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry review – being Chandler Bing

The sitcom star’s fascinating, gruesome tale of addiction and how he kept the show on the road

When Matthew Perry was taking his first steps as an actor, his father bought him a book called Acting With Style. John Bennett Perry, a singer and performer best known for appearing in Old Spice adverts in the 1970s and 80s, wrote in the inside page: “Another generation shot to hell. Love, Dad.” Little did he know how accurate his inscription would turn out to be. Professionally, his son would easily outshine him, landing the part of Chandler Bing in Friends, the biggest sitcom in TV history. But, in life, it was Matthew who came off worse, a result of his catastrophic addictions to alcohol and opiates.

By turns fascinating and maddening, Perry’s memoir is less a tale of a glittering showbiz career than a fitfully gruesome account of his efforts to keep the show on the road. He reckons to have attended 6,000 AA meetings, detoxed 65 times, and spent in the region of $7m to get sober. His book begins, as so many addiction memoirs do, with him at his lowest ebb. Hospitalised after an “explosion” of the bowel, a result of chronic constipation caused by opiate abuse, he had arrived at the emergency room screaming in pain and then fallen into a coma which lasted for 14 days. “It’s kind of poetic,” he notes. “I was so full of shit it nearly killed me.”

The drily funny tone is typical of Perry, who read the early Friends scripts and saw a kindred spirit in the smart, withering Chandler. Realising in his teens he could use humour to get people’s attention, he turned being funny into an Olympic sport. With two school friends he developed a sarcastic way of talking – example: “Could the teacher be any meaner?” – which would later become his character’s signature.

His problems started well before he became a household name. A child of divorced parents, he had long felt like an outsider in his own family. From the age of five, he would travel alone by plane from Montreal to visit his father in Los Angeles wearing a sign that read “Unaccompanied minor”. At 14, he was delighted to discover that drinking quelled the negative thoughts and made him more charming too. Later on, a painkiller prescription brought fresh serenity and soon he was knocking back 55 pills a day.

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Perry’s addictive personality was also evident in his relentless quest for fame, which he believed would solve his problems: “I think you actually have to have all of your dreams come true to realise they are the wrong dreams,” he writes. The actor makes no bones about his atrocious behaviour, delivering scattergun apologies to family, colleagues and ex-girlfriends including Julia Roberts, whom he dumped purely out of fear that she would dump him first.

But if the many hospital visits, detox programmes and breakups have been chastening, the massive show-off in Perry hasn’t been entirely vanquished. He blithely refers to himself as one of the funniest guys on the planet, gets antsy about reviews and can’t stop talking about how rich he is (buying property seems to be another addiction). Elsewhere, he misjudges the mood with a gag in which he asks why “original thinkers” such as River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die while Keanu Reeves is still alive, and makes a tone-deaf pronouncement about a friend who “never made it as an actor, has diabetes, is constantly worried about money, doesn’t work. I would trade places with him in a second.”

It would be nice to report that Perry turned his life around and engineered a happy ending for his offscreen self. In fact, the most desolate moments come when he evaluates his life now, aged 53, “sitting in a huge house, overlooking the ocean, with no one to share it with, save a sober companion, a nurse, and a gardener twice a week”. Perry can undoubtedly be a pain in the backside but in Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing he wears his big, bruised heart on his sleeve. The overwhelming sense is of a lonely, disappointed man in desperate need of a hug.

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FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING

by Matthew Perry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2022

Strictly for Perry’s fans.

The TV star details his career and his major addiction issues.

"I don't think it's an exaggeration to suggest that Chandler Bing transformed the way America spoke," writes Perry of his character on the megahit sitcom Friends , who habitually emphasized a different word in a sentence than one might expect. Could this be any bigger of a deal? Apparently not. "Aaron [Sorkin] and Tommy [Schlamme] had changed the way America looked at serialized TV with The West Wing , and I had changed how America spoke English,” writes the author. Certainly, plenty of readers will be interested in Perry's fabulous wealth and extraordinary fame—at one point in his life, he was one of the "most famous people in the world—in fact, I was being burned by the white-hot flame of fame”—his unsuccessful relationships with women, his 15 trips to rehab (“I have spent upward of $7 million to get sober”), numerous surgeries for the ravages of opioid-induced constipation, and his inability to add anything significant to his resume after Friends . However, Perry is a blurter, not a storyteller, and no ghostwriter or collaborator was involved in this project. Though he asserts that he does not blame his parents for his difficulties, the author sticks a major pin in the day they sent him on an airplane as an unaccompanied minor when he was 5 years old. Some will find it hard to sympathize with this story, and further mean-spirited outbursts don’t help—e.g., "Why is it that original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger died, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?" The concluding chapters trail off into what could be notes for some future acceptance speech. "I am me," he writes. "And that should be enough, it always has been enough." It’s not enough to carry this memoir.

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2022

ISBN: 9781250866448

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS & CELEBRITY

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New York Times Bestseller

by Stephanie Johnson & Brandon Stanton illustrated by Henry Sene Yee ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2022

A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.

A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.

Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.

Pub Date: July 12, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2

Page Count: 192

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS & CELEBRITY | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

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LOVE, PAMELA

by Pamela Anderson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 31, 2023

A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.

The iconic model tells the story of her eventful life.

According to the acknowledgments, this memoir started as "a fifty-page poem and then grew into hundreds of pages of…more poetry." Readers will be glad that Anderson eventually turned to writing prose, since the well-told anecdotes and memorable character sketches are what make it a page-turner. The poetry (more accurately described as italicized notes-to-self with line breaks) remains strewn liberally through the pages, often summarizing the takeaway or the emotional impact of the events described: "I was / and still am / an exceptionally / easy target. / And, / I'm proud of that ." This way of expressing herself is part of who she is, formed partly by her passion for Anaïs Nin and other writers; she is a serious maven of literature and the arts. The narrative gets off to a good start with Anderson’s nostalgic memories of her childhood in coastal Vancouver, raised by very young, very wild, and not very competent parents. Here and throughout the book, the author displays a remarkable lack of anger. She has faced abuse and mistreatment of many kinds over the decades, but she touches on the most appalling passages lightly—though not so lightly you don't feel the torment of the media attention on the events leading up to her divorce from Tommy Lee. Her trip to the pages of Playboy , which involved an escape from a violent fiance and sneaking across the border, is one of many jaw-dropping stories. In one interesting passage, Julian Assange's mother counsels Anderson to desexualize her image in order to be taken more seriously as an activist. She decided that “it was too late to turn back now”—that sexy is an inalienable part of who she is. Throughout her account of this kooky, messed-up, enviable, and often thrilling life, her humility (her sons "are true miracles, considering the gene pool") never fails her.

Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023

ISBN: 9780063226562

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

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StarTribune

Review: 'friends, lovers, and the big terrible thing,' by matthew perry.

Could Matthew Perry be any more vulnerable? In his bestselling memoir, the former "Friends" star shares his battles with addiction in excruciating detail: stealing pills from strangers' homes, emptying endless bottles of vodka and arranging for drug dealers to visit him in treatment centers. It's the part of his 12-step program where he's making amends with his fans.

Perry is less forthcoming about his showbiz adventures. He spends an entire chapter lauding "Whole Ten Yards" co-star Bruce Willis and shares dirt about how he blew a promising romance with Julia Roberts. But he shies away from backstage tales about his work, except for when he's dealing with how he let down his castmates. (He spends a lot of ink apologizing to Jennifer Aniston.)

TV fans would have loved at least more than passing references to his guest appearances on "The West Wing" and his fine performance as Teddy Kennedy in "The Kennedys — After Camelot" miniseries. Perry has written for stage and screen, so he knows how to tell a story. The book, however, leans a little too hard on cliches.

He ends up repeating certain anecdotes, sometimes within a few pages of each other. Those who have struggled with drugs and alcohol, though, will forgive him. If Perry's only goal was to be an inspiration to fellow addicts, he's succeeded.

Neal Justin is the Star Tribune's TV critic.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

By: Matthew Perry.

Publisher: Flatiron Books, 250 pages, $29.99.

Neal Justin covers the entertainment world, primarily TV and radio. He also reviews stand-up comedy. Justin is the founder of JCamp, a non-profit program for high-school journalists, and works on many fronts to further diversity in newsrooms.

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• Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible...

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir

Could this BE any more timely? Could this BE any sadder? Could he BE any more sorry about what he’s done to himself and others? The answer to these questions is NO, very much a NO.

Matthew Perry’s memoir, FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING, presents yet another chapter in one of the most popular television shows of all time. But he is very ready to address all of his personal demons in public. Perhaps by us knowing what has brought him to this point, he will feel seen and use our knowledge as a way to keep him on the straight and narrow path.

"Congratulations to [Matthew Perry] for being alive, first and foremost, and for writing a compelling, partly TMI book about one man’s battle against himself. Could there BE a more human story than that? I don’t think so."

There are plenty of memoirs in which celebrities tell you all about the behind-the-scenes horrors they have endured, but this book is different. Perry doesn’t really blame anyone but himself. And it’s a big deal to admit to everything one has done while masking pain in the giant world arena.

At a recent interview in Princeton, NJ, Perry looked wired but in a good way. He was sassy and spoke directly to the audience, echoing the sentiments put forth in his book: “I have an addictive personality, and now I can’t even be around drugs or alcohol.” He said he is pleased to be on the other side of this pain, but the people with whom he has burned bridges is a long and sad list.

Perry addresses his childhood, his attempts to be more like his father (the Old Spice guy from the ’80s), his brilliance at tennis (he was a junior champion in the US), his ability to keep the family peace as a people pleaser after his parents’ divorce, and his wandering into show business and the issues that arose when his dad, now remarried with a new family, grew jealous of him as “Friends” became a juggernaut.

He understands quite distinctly that his professional success did not make his personal shortcomings any easier, and the book is filled with the detritus of all the lost relationships with wonderful women (like Julia Roberts, Lizzy Caplan and Jamie Tarses, the latter of whom saved his life on more than one occasion) and the love he has fostered with his family. He is an AA advocate and has a newfound spirituality that gives him the strength to fight his addictions. This memoir is quite a journey.

There are a lot of details, physical ones, that make FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING feel a bit like a DARE notebook. It is a scared straight of sorts for those who think that addiction is not a disease (could they BE any more wrong?) This book could be handed to every kid who spent COVID lockdown watching “Friends” on repeat to remind them that drugs and alcohol never get rid of problems --- they only mask them.

Perry was part of a group of young actors, including Hank Azaria and Craig Bierko, who did not quite reach the heights that he did (although they have very successful careers), and how he became Chandler Bing is a story of fortune and destiny. He is more like the snarky, funny, vulnerable Chandler in person than he is in the book; in these pages he is forthright and funny at times, but angry and then resigned as his illness goes on.

To watch this handsome, talented man write so honestly about how his addiction and fears have turned him into a bachelor semi-recluse is a difficult read. As George Clooney once said, TV stars are like part of someone’s family: they are in your life like a family member, coming into your living room while you are resting in your underwear. We think of Chandler as someone we actually know. But Matthew Perry is a man, a survivor, an addict, a son, a friend --- a lot of things that FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING makes clear are now far more important to him than being an actor ever could be.

Congratulations to him for being alive, first and foremost, and for writing a compelling, partly TMI book about one man’s battle against himself. Could there BE a more human story than that? I don’t think so.

Reviewed by Jana Siciliano on November 21, 2022

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir by Matthew Perry

• Publication Date: November 1, 2022
• Genres: Memoir , Nonfiction
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Flatiron Books
• ISBN-10: 1250866448
• ISBN-13: 9781250866448

Sally Flint

• Modern World
• +44 7504 216277

The title of Matthew Perry’s autobiography, is a little deceving as the focus on his friends and the show Friends doesn’t dominate – rather, it takes second stage to Perry’s honest and frank sharing of his addiction to drugs and alcohol. Perry leaves no stone unturned and doesn’t shirk away from the truth, when he describes how he really has no right to be alive. Numerous stints in rehab centers, and life threatening surgery, have failed to cure Perry of his addiciton. He claims the only reason he doesn’t drink and take drugs any more, is because he simply cannot get enough of them to make a difference! We learn about huge highs, lows, detoxes and the reasons that, Perry claims, led to his addiction – a sense of abandonment, a difficult upbringing and a feeling of never quite being good enough. Perry explains that consequently runnning away from important relationships have  also shaped his life. In many ways, Perry presents as not so dissimilar to how Chandler himself is depicted on the stage. Perry speaks generously of pasts loves, and disparagingly of himself and his achievements. He would give up all his wealth and. fame to have a hold over his addiction to drugs and alcohol. The book is full of what readers will recognise as Chandler wit, but pain is never far from the surface. 

Book Club Questions on Matthew Perry's Friends, Lovers, and the Terrible Big Thing

• Perry shares a lot of highs and lows of life in Friends, Lovers and the Terrible Big Thing. Discuss what you found the most poignant moment in the book. Why did you think this mattered so much?
• What similarities did you find between between the characters of Matthew Perry and Chandler?
• What did you learn about rehab from reading Matthew Perry’s book? Do you think Perry’s representation of rehabilitation is accurate and fair?
• At one point in the text, Perry is involved, relatively seriously, with two women at the same time. How, if at all, did this affect your opinion of Matthew Perry?
• The foreward of the book was written by Lisa Kudrow, but yet she wasn’t in the Friends cast photo that was shared at the end of the book? Did you attach any signficance to this? And if so what?
• How important do you think personal photographs are in a celebrity autobiography?
• What do you think motivates celebrities to write their autobiographies, or is it impossible to generalize?
• Matthew Perry’s life was changed forever when he was cast as Chandler. Has anything (not in a show-biz way, but more everyday) changed your life forever? Discuss.
• Discuss what you know about addiction. If you’d like to share any stories of how addiction has affected your own life, or that of yourself, family and friends go ahead and do so. 

This is the most honest, raw and interesting autobiography that I’ve read. I was fascinated with how open and frank Matthew Perry was. It intrigues me that he said the only reason he no longer partakes in drink and drugs is because he couldn’t get enough of either to have an effect on him. There was absolutely no sugar-coating of the trauma, embarrassment and pain, suffering and loss that Perry’s addiction brought him. Far more effectively than anything else I’ve ever read, was his presentation on the power that addiction has over an individual. For lovers of Friends, the T.V, series, the book presents a fascinating itinerary and timeline of how Chandler’s appearance parallels his dependency on drugs. The more hooked he was the thinner he appeared!  Despite Perry’s honesty, I couldn’t quite bring myself to fully empathise with him. Whether it was how how Perry repeatedly said that he’d give up his wealth and fame to be cured, or whether it was his constant reference to being lonely, while still cheating on his partners, I felt a tad of irritation. Perhaps it was just the realisation that Matthew Perry, and thus, in my eyes, Chandler, was just a flawed human like all of us. Having said that Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing was a well-written book and a good read. I would definitely recommend it, especially to anyone who is trying to understand the complexities of addiction.

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Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry book review

I’ve always been a massive fan of Friends , it is without a doubt one of my favourite shows of all time and I’ll put it on almost any time of the day. When I saw Matthew Perry had released a memoir, I was very keen to read who the real Chandler was. I knew about his addiction but only on a very surface level “Ooh, did you know Chandler was apparently addicted to drugs during his time on Friends ” sort of level but wasn’t aware of the horrible and harrowing depths to which the addiction took over his life.

Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product.

Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing tells Matthew Perry’s memoir, focusing on his incredible ongoing and relentless battle with addictions to drugs and alcohol. If you’re a fan of Friends then I will warn you that this may change the way you look at the show forever. In short: despite the humour and joy the show produces, Perry is struggling with staying alive behind the scenes and it begins to get into his work.

Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing plot – 4.5/5

So this is a memoir so the review of the plot isn’t based on what the writer has created and how well it has all come together, but more my simple reaction to the incredible stories and overall tale that Perry has chosen to tell.

In Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing Perry starts you from the very beginning of his life, talking about his parents and his opinions on how they parented him, how he grew up using humour as a way of covering up any insecurities, how when he first got drunk instead of throwing up or feeling fear like his friends, he felt true bliss for the very first time. It’s all very harrowing with a lot of explanations (though crucially never excuses) as to where he thinks the addiction make have sourced from.

He talks about his time in Friends , his struggle with balancing his addiction with relationships and his professional life. He discusses how despite being good-looking, ridiculously wealthy and very successful, nothing could help his addiction.

The whole book is very dark. There are moments where he discusses nearly dying and some very troubling moments in his life. I commend Perry for not pulling any punches here and being brutal and honest about all of the horrible moments he faced. I don’t want to spoil the book too much as there’s so much to digest in here which will leave you feeling quite sorry for Perry but also so proud (he’s technically been sober since 2001 but has recently said that he’s now properly sober).

One other thing I must mention is that this book, despite being about a very dark matter still manages to slip in some humour. If you’re not someone who can take a darker joke, this may not be the book for you.

Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing characters – 4/5

How does one rate the characters from a memoir? Well I think the best place to start is the personality and opinions that Matthew Perry himself gives across. When I went into this book, I heard he had come out as a bit of an ass. However, this is likely again from those with fairly weak walls. As I mentioned in the paragraph above, if you can’t take a joke, then yes you’ll likely take offence with some of the things in this list (though I can tell you now, none of it is aimed at you.)

Perry praises almost everyone he’s worked with, including his Friends costars who you’d think after working with them for ten years he’d have some bad things to say about, but he simply doesn’t/

The vibe he gives off is that he’s actually a very nice guy who has grown an ego based on being one of the most popular names in America for a few years and having earned a hideous amount of money. Also, for a while, he was considered incredibly really good-looking and could literally get any woman he wanted. With all of this, he’s grown an ego that you have to argue many would struggle to contain.

However, despite his willingness to accept these aspects of his life, he never forgets to remember how very low he was or how mean he was to certain people when high or drunk. He talks of it as a disease that ate away at him and controlled the way he lived his life for way too long – making you feel sorry for him!

Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing final rating – 4.5

Matthew Perry’s memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing was an incredibly powerful tale of a man who, to everyone’s untrained eye had everything: money, good looks, fame, popularity, the women, the house, the cars, the career. But behind that, away from the public, the limelight and the cameras he was struggling with one of the most all-encompassing diseases somebody with an able body could suffer from – an addiction.

If you’re a fan of Friends , I’d go into this book with caution as you may never be able to watch it without thinking of Chandler differently. However, in the same breath, I’d wholeheartedly recommend reading Perry’s story. It’s real, it’s brutal and it is emotional – everything you want the memoir of one of the most famous men on TV to be.

Pick up a copy of Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing from Amazon here.

If you liked this book then you may like my reviews of the following books:

• This is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay

2 thoughts on “ Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry book review ”

This is a great review Luke, I’ve been umminng and ahhing about reading this since it was released- Friends fan. Like you, I only know the surface level details about his addiction, sounds like a powerful read.

Thanks Sarah. Yeah, it’s very eye-opening and very sad, both of which made it a fascinating read!

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Matthew Perry Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing

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There but for the grace of god go I

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

April 19, 2024 by Sophia Leave a Comment

I knew Matthew Perry was on  Friends , and I knew that he’d had a drug addiction. (I actually thought that he’d gotten over the addiction and that’s why he’d gained weight at some point during the run of  Friends ). When Perry’s book came out, I heard about the light controversy of him being mean to Keanu Reeves. Keanu Reeves was not mentioned in my audiobook, but I went back to Google to find out what Perry had written. It was stupid, it was mean, and it was not funny. I’m pretty sure Keanu Reeves has had to live with some tragic early deaths of his loved ones, and I can’t imagine him attacking anyone like that. I’m glad Perry took that out.

Anyway, I learned a lot about Matthew Perry in this book. I had no idea how long and difficult his struggle with addiction was or what an incredible toll it took on his body, health, and life. The rehab stints and relapses were so frequent that it was hard to keep track of them while listening to the book. However, in an interview in 2022, Perry “estimated that he had spent $9 million on his addiction, including 14 stomach surgeries, 15 stays in rehab, therapy twice a week for 30 years and 6,000 AA meetings.”

I also didn’t know anything about Perry’s childhood and family. There is plenty of potential trauma to mine for what might have contributed to his life suffering from addiction. His father walked out on them when he was very young. Eventually, Perry would fly alone on a plane from Canada to California to go visit him. When he was a baby, his doctor told his parents to give him benzos to help him sleep. I also didn’t know that Justin Perry’s mother was the press secretary for Pierre Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister and Justin Trudeau’s father.

Matthew Perry had all the money and resources in the world to fight his disease but could never beat it. It left me with something of a hopeless feeling. I also wondered while reading the book if Perry had already gone back to using at some point, but he still had to finish the book with a satisfying ending. He mentioned that he thought fame and fortune was the answer to happiness that  everyone  wants, and it wasn’t until he had it that he realized it didn’t help. I disagree with him there. I have zero interest in fame and quite like my anonymity. Would I take more money if it was being handed out? Gladly. But I know it’s not my path to happiness.

Perry often talked about how he was lonely and alone. It sounded like he understood his problems and what was causing him to push people away. Yet he still constantly sabotaged his relationships. I guess when you can’t take care of yourself, you have a hard time taking care of other people’s feelings as well. In the end, I learned a lot about how much Perry went through as he dealt with addictions throughout his life. It was eye opening.

You can find all my reviews on my blog .

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Friends, lovers, and the big terrible thing: a memoir audible audiobook – unabridged.

This program is read by the author.

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK BY TIME, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, GOODREADS, USA TODAY, AND MORE!

The beloved star of Friends takes us behind the scenes of the hit sitcom and his struggles with addiction in this candid, funny, and revelatory memoir that delivers a powerful message of hope and persistence.

“Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”

So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us . . . and so much more.

In an extraordinary story that only he could tell—and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it—Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends , sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humor, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is an unforgettable memoir that is both intimate and eye-opening—as well as a hand extended to anyone struggling with sobriety. Unflinchingly honest, moving, and uproariously funny, this is the audiobook fans have been waiting for.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

• Listening Length 8 hours and 49 minutes
• Author Matthew Perry
• Narrator Matthew Perry
• Audible release date November 1, 2022
• Language English
• Publisher Macmillan Audio
• ASIN B09RQ4L751
• Version Unabridged
• Program Type Audiobook
• See all details

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