Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

The BELOVED STAR OF FRIENDS takes us behind the scenes of the hit sitcom and his struggles with addiction in this “CANDID, DARKLY FUNNY...POIGNANT” memoir (The New York Times)

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK by Time, Associated Press, Goodreads, USA Today, and more!

“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.

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. Unflinchingly honest, moving, and uproariously funny, this is the book fans have been waiting for.

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272 pages

Average rating: 7.1

602 RATINGS

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Lisalap8

Apr 17, 2025

10/10 stars

AMAZING and REAL book!

Talleygirl

Mar 20, 2025

8/10 stars

So sad, he had everything and couldn’t enjoy it because of his addiction. Well read and written. Enjoyable to listen to him read it

SraGonzalez

Mar 09, 2025

7/10 stars

🎧 This book was all over the place. I listened to it at 1.5x during my commute to and from work. Matthew Perry was the voice over. It sounded nothing like him. It sounded like a man who has been broken time and time again. It’s an extremely raw and vulnerable book. An insight into his illness, some of his relationships including his upbringing, and genuine fears. I had seen a few episodes of Friends but I wasn’t a fan of the show. This show had humor that I just didn’t understand as a NYC Puerto Rican youth. The show was on from when I was 8 years old until I was 18. I just couldn’t relate. Now in my late 30s, seeing the news that he had passed made me curious about his career because he was so young. This book had been on my TBR for some time. After reading the book, I’m still not a fan but have nothing but empathy for him as a person. Seeing he lived to his 50s and so many health and wellness issues he lived a long time suffering. Again, nothing but empathy. I unfortunately know a lot of people struggling with addiction. I will be going on a Friends binge and seeing if it’s a show I would enjoy now as an adult, a graduate from college, and having close friends as we grow up into the many stages of adulthood.

carrmel21

Feb 26, 2025

10/10 stars

I've always loved Matthew Perry. Reading this now that he has passed was a very bittersweet thing to do. There are stories that I had no idea happened. So many behind the scene stories, this funny charming man had a life long battle that some would have never guessed. I was lucky enough to have listed the the audio addition and hearing the story in his own voice was powerful. If you have an opportunity to listen to his story and you loved Matthew Perry you will know that he was so much more than just Chandler Bing.

Anonymous

Feb 11, 2025

6/10 stars

I have so many things I could say about this book. It was a tough pill to swallow, it was anxiety inducing, it was hilarious, it was eye opening, it was a million different things, but most of all it was incredibly sad. This was not a light book, it took me a full month to read 250 pages... something which I can normally accomplish within a few days. My heart broke when I heard about Matthew Perry's death, I could write a book on how much his character Chandler meant to me, and this book cut my heart into a million pieces and with each page shredded the already miniscule pieces into even smaller pieces.

If you have someone in your life that struggles with addiction or struggles with substance abuse as a coping mechanism, this will be a very difficult, but very insightful, read.

Outside of the emotional aspect, the book kind of jumps all over the place (it's basically a stream of consciousness) so it's hard to follow at times or understand when things occurred chronologically, and the editing wasn't great.