Home Books Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

by Matthew Perry; Lisa Kudrow

Flatiron Books ·2022 ·250 pages
Maybe Someday
Maybe Someday
I Index
32/99
Bottom of the Pile

9/99

Critics' Rating Index

Near the Top

55/99

Readers' Rating Index

n/a

Scholars' Citation Index

84/99

Volume of Reviews

99/99

Volume of Reader Ratings

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About This Book

"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 book fans have been waiting for.


Reviews

"Some will find it hard to sympathize with this story, and further mean-spirited outbursts don't help ..."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Bottom of the Pile

"Admirably honest, sometimes cringe-inducing memoir ..."

Barbara Allen· The Guardian Read review ↗ Near the Top

"The drily funny tone is typical of Perry ..."

Fiona Sturges· The Guardian Read review ↗ Near the Top

"He is easy to like, if prickly, and as easy to relate to as someone with multiple Banksys and a talent for repeatedly blowing up their own life could be."

Allison Stewart· The Washington Post Read review ↗ Near the Top

"You can't not love this twinkly, sad, funny, broken man who right to the very end makes you laugh."

Hilary Rose· The Times (UK) Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Could there BE a more human story than that?"

Jana Siciliano· Bookreporter Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Perry is sober, self-aware, and grateful for his life."

Rosy Brewer· Library Journal Read review ↗ Near the Top

"There are so many pills contained within this book that the reader will be tempted to shake it to see if it rattles."

Keith Duggan· The Irish Times Read review ↗ Near the Top

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