Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

Ignore the fact that this book is Matthew Perry's memoir. Look at it as an addict sharing the deep, down and dirty of being an addict. Read it with the intent to learn what it is like to live with the disease. Perry does a great job sharing the inner workings of the mind of an addict. This is a very eye-opening book, or it was for me anyway.

I read a review that slammed the book for the author being whiny and “poor pitiful me”. Accusing him of playing the “it's not easy being rich” card. And, while I do not agree that this is what he was doing I can see where someone might think this. To this I repeat my sentiment above. Go into this book as a way to see into the mind, heart and life of an addict.

Perry is very open about what was going through his mind while fighting the Big Terrible Thing. He is really sharing his story to give us an insight and hopefully and understanding of an addict's life. I really do believe he has written this book to help not only other addicts but really to help us be more patient and empathetic toward our own loved ones fighting this disease. Maybe, give us some tips to help our loved ones navigate the mine field they travel through daily just to survive.

Bonus, you are hearing it from one of this country's most beloved “Characters”. My only reason for not giving 5 stars is that Perry jumps from reminiscing about 2006 and then suddenly he's talking about 1999 and you don't really know that unless you are like me and keeping tabs on what happened when or he mentions the year. Other than this I think this book was great and I now have a deeper understanding and empathy for addicts.