A review by hellokaley
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

dark sad medium-paced

4.0

I added this book to my library holds following Matthew Perry’s death. It’s a difficult read, but so much more difficult knowing he is gone just a year after his memoir was published. 

The story goes through his acting career and his brutal journey with addition that has caused a litany of health issues along the way. He brings the reader along on the lows of detox, short stints in sobriety, and the incomprehensible (if you’re not an addict) relapses. I truly cannot imagine how he functioned during some of the darkest times. I liked his stories about Friends and the close relationships of the cast. It is clear that people really loved him.

There are lots of negative reviews about editing and story structure but I didn’t think it was so bad. I really didn’t mind the interludes where we hopped timelines. There was a little bit of repetition and at one point towards the end, I looked at my audiobook player to see if I had accidentally skipped back a few chapters because I had already heard this part of the story. I could have done without the “chapter summary” feel sometimes, but in general, I liked the pace and the narration.

Overall, it is a really sad story with periods of triumph, success, and some happiness scattered throughout. It paints the ugly and cruel world of addiction, something too many people are experiencing and impacted by. I’m glad that he got to tell his story in his own words and happy I read it.
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