Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

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

125 reviews

candyflosscurls's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Abandonment, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

amandaevans's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This story was heartbreaking. Matthew Perry’s struggle with addiction and alcoholism throughout his entire life is so incredibly challenging and dark. I commend him for sharing his struggles so publicly. I cannot imagine how hard it is to be someone in the public eye, trying to heal and recover from an endlessly daunting disease like he was. 

Throughout his memoir we get bits a pieces of his experience as an actor and writer, with some classic Perry humor, and of course, some insight to our favorite show, Friends. But more importantly we hear about his endless struggle with mental health, addiction, and the fear of abandonment. 

I feel inspired and heartbroken for people that struggle as Matthew Perry did. I was actually brought to tears several times throughout this book. After his passing, it is hard to read this, but important insight if you have anyone in your life that also struggles with addiction.

Only giving it 4/5 stars, because it was very non-linear. The timeline was back and forth throughout the entire book, making it a little hard to follow chronologically. However, I don’t think it bothered me that much, because I was so engrossed with his story and experiences. 

Ending the book, he finds his voice, his truth, and his courage. He never gave up, emboldened to share his story. And that is something. 

I hope he found peace and joy in his life, allowing himself to love and be loved, free from fear.

Rest in peace, Matthew Perry 🫶🏼🕊️

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Medical content, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, and Drug use

maukingbird's review against another edition

challenging dark funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Vomit, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Addiction, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

courtney__'s review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Mental illness, and Medical content

wanderinghappygal's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Alcohol

jennameyers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

I really enjoyed listening to this book! Matthew Perry narrated it and I always love hearing memoirs from the authors voice. Overall, I thought this book shed so much light on the troubles of addiction and how growth is not always linear. My only reason for giving it 4 stars and not 5 was that some parts felt a little redundant and some of the timelines would get confusing (but that’s more something a good editor could have fixed). 
Overall, this was a great read and I loved to hear the stories of his life!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Addiction

Moderate: Medical trauma, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content

samster_reads's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Addiction

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

booklover81's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad tense

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

camartin1015's review against another edition

dark funny sad medium-paced

3.0

I knew a bit about Matthew Perry and figured this would be a tougher listen after his death. I came to Friends late (didn't watch it while it was on), so it was interesting to learn some of the behind-the-scenes and cultural response to it. Perry doesn't shy away from the details of his addictions and their underlying causes, and it's pretty evident that he was only barely managing these at many times in his life, not just during the heyday of the show. I learned a lot about him, but this book had a much different tone than similar ones I've read/listened to (like Carrie Fisher's books). It's hard to listen to someone reflect on the deep entanglement of family life, romance, drug addiction, and mental illness, and see them get so close to making choices that could've led them in a fundamentally different direction. It's easy to notice these in hindsight and when it's not your personal experience, so that's not a criticism of Perry necessarily. But it's hard to think about this book and be sad/frustrated by the state of mental health care, especially in the US.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

cafecitoyt's review against another edition

sad

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Mental illness