Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Přátelé, lásky a ten ohromný průšvih

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Přátelé, lásky a ten ohromný průšvih by Matthew Perry

191 reviews

whats_hannah_reading's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Listening to this book was a little surreal, especially considering that Perry narrated it himself. Learning about his decades long struggle with drugs and alcohol was heartbreaking. At the end of the book he talks about how he's sober from everything and hopeful about the future. Four days before the first anniversary of his book release, he dies in the most devastating way. Perry went through so much and fought so hard for freedom from addiction, but in the end it still wasn't enough. As sad as this book was, it is worth the read/listen.

Content Warnings

strazzle's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

This one was tough. Matthew battled his demons his whole life and I wish he could have had the life he dreamed of.

I listened to the audiobook (which I always prefer for memoirs) but had to listen to it at 1.25x speed to make it palatable—otherwise it was too slow and slurred, which was made me sad (so different from his quick Chandler-like style I am used to). His writing style was conversational and easy but his storytelling was quite scattered and it was difficult to understand the timeline.

If you’re thinking of picking this one up, just know that it is 95% about his addictions and he doesn’t talk much about his time on Friends (other than which seasons lined up with which substance he was abusing at the time). It was hard to hear all of the struggles and pain he put himself through, and puts a damper on my memories of him. I am glad he had a chance to be honest with himself before he passed but it was a tough read.

Content Warnings

carsuek's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

I expected this book to make me sad, and it did, but not in the same way I expected. Even if he did write this sober, it’s still so obvious that he was still heavy in the throes of addiction - which makes sense to a point, because addiction never leaves. What stood out to me, as a person also in recovery, is that he still blamed a lot of things on other people. He was gracious, yes, and he was forgiving, but he still harbored that resentment and I think that’s what ate him alive. It’s wild that in the book he specifically states “ketamine is not for me” when that is what killed him in the end.

The saddest part about this for me is that if he were still alive, I think I would like him less after reading the book because of his arrogance in thinking he had it all figured out. Even in his supposed honesty with himself, he was still very sick and unwilling to accept real, deep responsibility. As I’ve heard in rooms over the years - some people are sicker than others - and he was ragged with the sickness. He even mentions in the book - in meetings we learn that our disease is waiting outside doing one-handed push-ups. His disease was a body builder.

I am sad because 20 years from now, he won’t be well enough to realize that he was still so sick when he wrote the book. I’m sad because he was a shining star of a human and still didn’t make it because of his own inner demons. I’m sad because he was always my favorite actor when he entered the scene and I don’t get to see him in anything new anymore.

Four stars because, though this book is all over the place, I loved Matthew Perry and it’s important for people to learn about the insanity of addiction. It is a real sickness and should be treated as such.

RIP, Matty. Long live Chandler Bing.

Content Warnings