Reviews with content warning for Grief - Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

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

22 reviews

readorperish's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.25

First off, I’m not a “Friends” fan. It doesn’t represent my generation and I don’t find it funny or interesting. However, I have seen the author interviewed on Dave Letterman’s show and found him funny and quick witted. Tragically, the book was published right before Perry’s death. Do we blame addicts for their demises? Does the fact that Perry was rich and famous make us less sympathetic to his plight? Is it fair to blame his parents? I’m guessing Perry would have traded his fame and wealth for a wife and children, but ultimately he came to that realization too late.

Content Warnings

emilyandthewhippet's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Content Warnings

ritikaupadhyay's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Content Warnings

likeagilmoregirl's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

This memoir is beautiful and heartbreaking all at once. I think Matthew did an amazing job of showing the reality of addiction and what it is like in different forms. He did not shy away or sugar coat the ugly, difficult parts of it. For that, I think he deserves all the credit. Though is seemed a bit haphazard at times, I think it was an important part of it. Knowing he is now gone, makes it even more heartbreaking because you can tell he was really trying to do better. But addiction is a hard thing. He said it himself, addicts are not bad people.

PS. I did not watch Friends

Content Warnings

redheadbookgirl's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

▫️Addiction/drug abuse

▫️Brutally raw + honest writing

▫️Autobiography spanning decades

▫️Not just a 𝙁𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 memoir

Could I 𝐁𝐄 any more heartbroken after reading that last page? How do I even begin to write about this book + how it made me feel? Poignant, raw, and utterly heartbreaking, there are certainly undertones of the dry wit that we came to know Perry for, but ultimately this a was devastatingly vulnerable and honest account of the decades of struggles he endured.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so heartbroken by a celebrity’s passing + I knew from the off that this would be a difficult read. I, like many others, knew some of Perry’s struggles, but not the extent. From Kudrow’s foreword: [𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘺] & the book’s opening line: [“𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥”] I had already lost it and was bawling. It’s eerily surreal + hits even harder reading Perry’s story, knowing he is no longer with us.

I also had no idea how much parallel was held between Perry and the character of Chandler. He was, and always will be, my favourite friend but he was so much more than that + it’s heartbreaking to know he was battling such severe demons every day behind that smile and those one liners. He was struggling to live, but he still made us laugh, he still helped so many people and he still created a legacy. Perhaps saddest of all, was how hopeful he sounded at the end of the book and how close he seemed to his real fresh start.

This book was an incredibly difficult read but I am so grateful to have understood Perry a little more + feel honoured to have had an insight into his story. May you finally be at peace Matty🤎

Content Warnings

kimberlina82's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Matthew Perry is raw, uncut and completely honest in his autobiography. Big giant trigger warning, read with care. I cried several times throughout, but as a person with a family full of addiction and as a huge fan of Matthew it only seemed right to read it.

Prepare yourself for a journey, not an easy one. But one that leads to sobriety, faith, and redemption.

RIP Mattman

Content Warnings