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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

"A tale of hope for those trying to overcome addiction or in recovery."

Rosy Brewer· Library Journal Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Grimly funny, mostly unvarnished and frequently proctological ..."

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

"Strictly for Perry's fans."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Bottom of the Pile

"He thinks that his future will be about helping other addicts and hopes that this unflinching chronicle might play its part."

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

"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 ..."

Fiona Sturges· The Guardian Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Elsewhere, there's cringe-inducing griping (poor reviews; award snubs) and barely veiled bragging about his wealth and multimillion-dollar homes ..."

Barbara Allen· The Guardian Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Being Chandler Bing must be a strange and curious fate for an actor, but with it Perry has produced a fizzing account of wrestling the demons of television fame."

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

"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 ..."

Jana Siciliano· Bookreporter Read review ↗ Near the Top

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