REVIEW Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing audiobook

OVERVIEW

This was a decent celebrity memoir by Matthew Perry. It was okay, but not really good.  

How Matthew succumbed to the "Big Terrible Thing" is heartbreaking. His parents come off as disinterested and absent in his formative years which creates a perfect storm for someone who is a future alcoholic and addict. However, they redeemed themselves in his adulthood. 

The hardest part for me was to listen to Matthew ache for love and a real relationship, but the sobriety/addiction cycle did not allow him to do so. Also, his pain while detoxing, binging, and after his surgeries was so, so sad. 

Now that Matthew has passed, this explains so much.

OVERALL REVIEW: 3.0 stars

Writing: 2.5 stars

It could have been written and edited to make it less repetitive. This memoir could have been so much more with a deeper dive into the friends, lovers, and big terrible things. 

Narration: 2.5 stars

Matthew had a horribly slurry voice which is probably due to all of his health problems. Also, his true self just doesn't come through at all. 

Character Arc: 2.5 stars

This character arc was a complete and total mess. It was all over the place and was horribly repetitive. 

If it had been edited to chronological order, it would have been so much stronger.  Matthew mentions 14 surgeries, 59 detoxes, and a multitude of rehabs - getting into these issues would have been so very powerful! 

Also, why was he allowed to be on television and movie sets hung over, high, and/or drunk? Why was he enabled by so many people?

Memorable: 3.0 stars

Kind of. It is a memoir that I would recommend for a HUGE Matthew Perry, but not a big FRIENDS fan as there is little about it in the memoir. I would recommend it to someone who is fighting addiction if they are open to reading it. 

Entertaining: 3.0 stars

Matthew was a funny and spontaneous person, but none of that came through in this memoir. He was also beloved by his friends, lovers, and family with none of that really explored at all.  

 

Book cover: 3.0 stars

Just okay.

Book title: 3.0 stars 

It was somewhat true and somewhat untrue. 

LUKEWARM recommend

STATISTICS

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

8 hours, 49 minutes

Listened to as an audiobook from the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL)

Release date of 11/1/2022

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Matthew Perry

My Goodreads review

Macmillan Audio

Los Angeles Public Library

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜