Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is the most honest, vulnerable memoir I've ever read. Matthew Perry is perhaps one of the most famous actors of the 1990s, how could you have missed the cultural zeitgeist that was and is Friends? While I was not a fan of Friends, I really loved his tender openness in this memoir and I'm so glad I read it. 

In this book, Perry discusses numerous relationships both romantic and otherwise as they relate to his past and to his journey with addiction. Perry has experienced addiction in many forms and he has a lot of wisdom about sobriety, and I loved his honesty about how the journey hasn't been linear for him. He openly explains the roots of insecurity that stem from his childhood and how his trouble committing to lovers has impacted his life. 

While I loved this book and I feel terrible critiquing it, it is far from perfect. There are things I would change as far as editing for smoothness in the storyline and I think he could have shown a bit more acknowledgement of his incredible privilege as an affluent white man. But really, I think he focused on his story and his emotional experience as an addict trying to stay clean and I can't fault him for telling that as he did. Not perfect, 5 stars, 100% recommend.