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

4.0

I’m not going to lie, this book was incredibly painful to read after the passing of Perry. I’ve never been one to not recommend a book, but if I did, it might be this one. Not because the book was bad or his stories aren’t interesting, but purely because you already know the ending of the epilogue he didn’t write.

Perry details his life in such a way you would have never known. From when he became famous and the lack of social media, I think it’s pretty safe to say you didn’t know him like you thought you did, especially if you kept up with his latest and greatest. I think the toughest part of this read was not knowing he passed, but the amount of times he tried to quit drugs and how his words and pleas ultimately made you cheer for him. While I had the empathy to cheer him on, the reality is a gut punch.

It was so sad to learn the amount of times he tried to quit and how much he wanted to help otherwise, but ultimately, he couldn’t help himself.

He shares lighter, happier stories that are pretty vague, mainly to keep anonymity of the people involved. His stories are a bit repetitive and bounce around a lot from stories of his life, but I think it reflects his mind and how it was constantly whirring. 

Without babbling on too much more, just know, it’s sad.

Content warnings: addition, drug use, alcoholism, mental illness, infidelity, medical content, suicidal ideation