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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
I always feel a little uneasy giving a star rating to a memoir it’s someone’s life, not a novel written to be dissected but if I had to, this would be a four-star read for me.
I’ll admit: I never really watched Friends. I wasn’t even quite born when it first aired but obviously I know the cultural references, of course, and I understand how iconic Matthew Perry’s Chandler Bing was, but I don’t have that built-in nostalgia so many readers probably will have. Even so, it’s impossible to miss the impact he had on television, on comedy, and on so many people who felt like they knew him.
Reading this after his untimely passing is both harrowing and unexpectedly moving. Perry writes with the quick, dry wit you’d expect, but what really stands out is his unflinching honesty. He lays bare the chaos of addiction, the loneliness that accompanied fame, and the constant, exhausting fight to get better. He even pokes fun at himself for it: at one point he essentially says, I know this is a “woe is me” story, but look I’m a multi-millionaire, I get it if you don’t feel sorry for me. And yet, somehow, you do.
You can’t help it, because beneath the self-awareness there’s a man who so desperately wanted to heal someone who wanted to love and be loved, and who longed to turn his own pain into help for others. That thread of hope runs through every chapter. And that’s what makes reading it now feel so desperately sad. You can feel how much he fought, how much he cared, and how much he wanted to make a difference.
This memoir is both harrowing and hopeful. It leaves you grateful for the laughter Matthew Perry gave the world, and aching for the life cut short, a reminder that behind the punchlines and the fame there was someone still reaching for light.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Alcohol
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Inhaltlich sehr interessant, einfach weil ich mehr über Matthew Perry erfahren wollte. Leider ist das Buch entweder echt schlecht geschrieben oder unfassbar schlecht übersetzt. Es gibt unzählige Wiederholungen, ich konnte kaum verstehen in welcher Reihenfolge er sich wo befand oder etwas geschehen ist und ich denke, bei der Übersetzung die meisten guten Gags leider verloren gegangen
very bittersweet, especially with how positive he felt toward the end
I don’t want to provide any negative here. This man is strong and continuing to uphold a very difficult sobriety and I’m never going to say anything negative towards that. The audiobook was very enjoyable.
My only reason for 4 stars is that the timeline was hard to follow. The interludes were fine but he seemed to jump around in the chapters as well. But it was a good book and just goes to show that you never know what other people are going through.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
This is heartbreaking to read, especially after Matthew Perry’s passing in 2023. I would recommend the audiobook, as it is narrated by Matthew Perry.
TW: drugs, alcoholism, addiction
TW: drugs, alcoholism, addiction
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced