Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

Content Warning: This guide includes descriptions of substance use and addiction.

Friends star Lisa Kudrow pays tribute to Matthew Perry’s humor and intelligence. She describes how uncomfortable it made her in the past when members of the press—alluding to Perry’s struggles with addiction—asked her how he was doing. She was uncomfortable with the question for two related reasons: First, she didn’t really know how he was doing, since he was private about the details of his addiction. Second, and most importantly, it wasn’t her story to tell. This book, Kudrow says, is Perry’s chance to speak for himself, telling the full story of his addiction and recovery as only he can tell it.

The author introduces himself by telling, in largely humorous style, the story of one of the most harrowing experiences in his life. He was 49 years old at the time of the incident, undergoing one of numerous attempts at drug and alcohol rehabilitation in a Californian treatment center. In the process of withdrawal from Xanax, Perry had been constipated for 10 days with unbearable abdominal pain. His friend and assistant, Erin, declared she was taking him to the hospital. The center’s counselors tried to stop them, claiming Perry was displaying “drug-seeking behavior” (5).