Cover of Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

“Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty.”

So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us... and so much more.

Read more

In an extraordinary story that only he could tell—and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it—Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humor, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is an unforgettable memoir that is both intimate and eye-opening—as well as a hand extended to anyone struggling with sobriety.

Subject
biography
Themes
actors
Audience
adult
Length
medium · 272 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. Pageboy Shares actors, memoir, biography
  2. Good Girl Gone Bad Shares drug addicts
  3. Powder: A Deadly Addiction Shares drug addicts
  4. Fue ayer y no me acuerdo Shares drug addicts

“If you want more of the same (biography about actors), start with these.”

  1. Trejo
  2. Bruce Lee
  3. Mickey Rourke
  4. Hollywood Divas: The Good, the Bad, and the Fabulous (Encore Film Book Classics 8)

“If it was the drug addicts that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. The Gospel According to Gracey
  2. Rising in Love: My Wild and Crazy Ride to Here and Now, with Amma, the Hugging Saint
  3. The Hunger
  4. John Cena

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Hello Darlin': Tall (and Absolutely True) Tales About My Life
  2. Nine Lives: A Chef's Journey from Chaos to Control
  3. The Truth About Diamonds
  4. Bottled: A Mom's Guide to Early Recovery