{"id":178,"date":"2023-04-14T19:38:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T18:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/annabelwrites.com\/?p=178"},"modified":"2025-02-16T19:44:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T19:44:03","slug":"book-review-friends-lovers-and-the-big-bad-thing-matthew-perry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/annabelwrites.com\/?p=178","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Friends, Lovers and the Big Bad Thing, Matthew Perry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019ve been wanting to read this book pretty much since it published. However having any time in my life in the last year has been quite challenging for me. Then something prompted me to start reading it, my mental health. Some might say this is ironic considering the content of the biography \u201cFriends, Lovers And The Big Bad Terrible Thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is no secret I have been a huge fan of Friends since it first aired on my 19 inch television back in 1995. Ironically the programme first aired on my 19th birthday in the US. From the start my favourite character was of course Chandler Bing, he had me laughing at every episode. So when Matthew Perry published his biography, it was only a matter of time before I read it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sypnosis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The beloved star of Friends takes us behind the scenes of the hit sitcom and his struggles with addiction in this candid, funny, and revelatory memoir that delivers a powerful message of hope and persistence.<\/em><\/strong>
<\/em><\/strong>
<\/em><\/strong>\u201cHi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.\u201d<\/em>
<\/em>
<\/em>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.<\/em>
<\/em>
<\/em>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\u2019s 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 humour, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all.<\/em>
<\/em>
<\/em>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. \u2013 AMAZON<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although Matthew is most famous for Friends, he has also had an acting career before and after. I only knew him for Friends and Whole Nine Yards<\/em>, which to be completely honest I only watched because he was in it with Bruce Willis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I would say about half of the biography he talks about his time on Friends, he tells how the cast members became his family and support network. He shares his admirable memories of being on the set, of how his fellow cast members looked out for each other. His honest recollection of the actors, saying how caring and compassionate Jennifer Anniston is to them all, Lisa Kudrow making them laugh and David Schwimmer being like a big brother to all of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addictions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

His honesty on his addictions is profound. I hadn\u2019t realised how many addictions he\u2019d had in his life and how early they started. You can tell that his intention for this book is to help other sufferers and not get sympathy, although I couldn\u2019t help feel a little bit sorry for him. It\u2019s in my nature. Addiction to drink \u201cI\u2019d ask the hotel reception to leave a bottle of Vodka in my bath tub\u201d is something that I will never understand as I\u2019ve become less and less of a drinker. He grew up watching his father drink every night made him think it was normality so he began drinking as a teenager. He also was smoking up to 60 cigarettes a day up till 2021 when he quit. These addictions were covering a void that he wasn\u2019t aware he\u2019d missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After each chapter there\u2019s an Eiplogue that is a \u2018flash back\u2019 of his life. Moments that he remembers, and I wonder how he did with the amount of alcohol and drugs in his body. Many of these Epiloges are memories of one of the 15 times he spent in rehabilitation. After a freak skying accident being prescribed Vicodin, which was when his addiction started and then continued for almost forty years. There was only one season of Friends that he wasn\u2019t high on drugs, and that was seaseon 9. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humour<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This was what he was most well known for, his humour captured so many people in the world. Members of the public using his famous phrases. \u201cCould you BE anymore knowledgeable?\u201d In fact the humour he practised he already used in his life and he talks about his lifelong best friends from his childhood. Along with these friends they started this type of humour and this was where that particular phrase came from. So that humour that we all know and love has been around for over 40 years!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Matthew<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Family<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Son of actor John Perry (the Old Spice guy) and Suzanne Langford (secretary to the to former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau). He grew up in Canada and his father left them when he was just a baby, but from the age of 5 he would travel alone to visit his father who lived in LA. All 5 of his siblings are from his mother and step-father Keith Morrison, whom he loves very much so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evaluates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

He finally evaluates his life now, \u201csitting in a huge house, overlooking the ocean, with no one to share it with.\u201d This shows that he can undoubtedly be a pain. The overwhelming sense is of a lonely, disappointed man in desperate need of a hug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a great read, it was definitely worth the wait.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been wanting to read this book pretty much since it published. However having any time in my life in the last year has been quite challenging for me. Then something prompted me to start reading it, my mental health. Some might say this is ironic considering the content of the biography \u201cFriends, Lovers And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53221594,"featured_media":183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[309],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgmcKn-2S","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":609,"url":"https:\/\/annabelwrites.com\/?p=609","url_meta":{"origin":178,"position":0},"title":"Book Review: The first wife\u2019s shadow, Adele parks","author":"Annabel","date":"16\/06\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve always been attracted to Adele Park's novels, I always know it\u2019s going to be a page turner. 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This one truly did not disappoint, the only disappointment was finishing the book because I truly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/annabelwrites.com\/?cat=309"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annabelwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/pexels-photo-1589818.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annabelwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/pexels-photo-1589818.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annabelwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/pexels-photo-1589818.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annabelwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/pexels-photo-1589818.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annabelwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/pexels-photo-1589818.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":84,"url":"https:\/\/annabelwrites.com\/?p=84","url_meta":{"origin":178,"position":1},"title":"A Book Review: Another cup of coffee, Jenny Kane","author":"Annabel","date":"05\/10\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Life has been somewhat hectic lately with one thing and another. 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Sypnosis Thirteen years ago Amy Crane ran away from everyone and everything she knew, ending up in an unfamiliar\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/annabelwrites.com\/?cat=309"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annabelwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/l-d-i-a-dqdyo9jsixa-unsplash.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annabelwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/l-d-i-a-dqdyo9jsixa-unsplash.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annabelwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/l-d-i-a-dqdyo9jsixa-unsplash.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annabelwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/l-d-i-a-dqdyo9jsixa-unsplash.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":73,"url":"https:\/\/annabelwrites.com\/?p=73","url_meta":{"origin":178,"position":2},"title":"Book Review: Frank & Red, Matt Coyne","author":"Annabel","date":"21\/05\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Frank and Red is definitely a feel-good-read and it came at the right time for me. 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