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Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I highly encourage you to listen to this one via audio, as it’s narrated by the author! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Like most Americans alive in the last 30 years, I’ve seen Friends. I’d caught episodes here and there, but I began watching the show in earnest when I was in college — closeish in age to these twenty somethings and similarly trying to navigate friendships, dating, and who I was going to be, although I wasn’t sure how I was old enough to be doing any of that. My favorite character was Chandler Bing: good looking, inept at dating, and so uncomfortable in his skin that he was forever making a sarcastic quip or well timed joke. His signature quirky cadence — which Perry says he and his friends developed as teens — “Could this BE any more awkward?” — shaped comedy for an entire generation. The show brought me comfort then, and it brings me comfort now. Although watching it with a contemporary lens certainly highlights its flaws (of which there are many), it’s easy to see how the show broke record after record and has remained in the cultural zeitgeist. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Perry writes movingly about his childhood, in particular his abandonment and the way in which that permanently shaped his relationships, his desire for the spotlight, and his comedy. He takes readers through the unbelievable story of how he landed the part of Chandler. He has nothing but glowing things to say of his co-stars, showrunners, and experience on the show. His description of his relationship with Julia Roberts is touching (their courtship via fax had me swooning). His longtime friendships and the support of his family is clear throughout. Those are the bright lights of this memoir, which also takes us on the journey of Perry’s addiction: first to alcohol, and then to pills — an addiction that he kept hidden from nearly everyone and which has shaped his entire life. (continued in comments) via Instagram https://instagr.am/p/CkswcXhrbr1/