Matthew Perry's Memoir Returns to No. 1 After His Sudden Death at 54 — Revisit Some of His Candid Revelations

Matthew Perry’s book is a best seller once again.

The beloved actor’s 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, has once again taken the No. 1 spot on Amazon’s Best Sellers list in the days after the five-time Emmy nominee's sudden death at age 54.

The book, which was an instant New York Times bestseller after it was initially released last November, details Perry’s life and career, including harrowing revelations about his experience with addiction.

Perry, who died Saturday in an apparent drowning, spoke with PEOPLE about his memoir for an October 2022 cover story. 

“It all flew out of me,” he said of the writing process. “It wasn’t that difficult a book to write. It’s a more difficult thing to read, because you go, 'Wow, this is a horrible story.' But there’s a sense of humor that runs through it.”

Well before his breakout turn as Chandler Bing on Friends, Perry initially wanted to be a professional tennis player. Once he turned to acting, he booked early guest spots on shows including Growing Pains and Charles in Charge. Perry wrote that while on the sitcom Sydney, he was “madly in love” with his costar, Valerie Bertinelli, and he revealed that when Friends was being cast, he was booked for another TV show called L.A.X. 2194, which almost prevented him from auditioning. 

...The Big Terrible Thing also saw tremendous candor from Perry regarding his addiction. He began drinking at age 14 and, at one point, was hospitalized for five months due to a burst colon from overusing prescription opioids, which he began taking after a 1997 ski accident. Soon after, Perry went into a two-month-long coma and had to use a colostomy bag. 

Perry also wrote about his struggle with addiction while filming Friends, and told PEOPLE about the support his cast mates showed him.

“They were understanding, and they were patient,” Perry said. “It could be said that [doing the show] saved me.”

Many of Perry’s friends, former cast mates and fans in Hollywood and beyond have paid tribute after his death.

Longtime friend Hank Azaria shared a touching Instagram video in which he said, “As an actor, he was so brilliant. I just wish we – the world, I and the world — could have gotten what the rest of his career would’ve been.”

On-screen love interest actress Maggie Wheeler — who played Chandler’s one-time girlfriend Janice on Friends — wrote on Instagram: “I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared. ♥”

Fans have also paid tribute to the late actor by creating a memorial outside of the West Village building used for exterior shots of Chandler's apartment building. 

Perry had been vocal about helping others struggling with addiction, telling PEOPLE that he “[liked] writing a lot” and that his memoir was a way to share his story with others.

“I wanted to talk about the highs and the lows, because people are suffering out there,” he said. “And maybe if they hear a story from somebody they’ve seen on TV that’s worse or the same as theirs, they’ll be filled with hope.”

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Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is available now wherever books are sold.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.