Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

June 1, 2022

In A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing, poet Daniel parses multiple identities and diverse family roots as she recounts her journey from Nigeria to England to the United States (75,000-copy first printing). The breakout star of Girls Trip and the first Black female stand-up comedian to host Saturday Night Live, Haddish proclaims I Curse You with Joy in offering an essay collection that ranges from her viral head-shaving video on Instagram to reconnecting with a father she hadn't seen for years (225,000-copy first printing). In Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Friends star Perry goes all out to discuss his struggle with addiction while offering backstage anecdotes about the mega-hit sitcom (one-million--copy first printing). Flying high as social media director at a publishing house, Sehee still felt anxious and exhausted--"I don't know, I'm--what's the word--depressed?"--and records her conversations with her therapist in I Want To Die but I Want To Eat Tteokbokki, a huge best seller in South Korea (75,000-copy first printing). Winner of the Hurston/Wright Crossover Award, Shakur's When They Tell You To Be Good unfolds the coming of age of a queer, Jamaican American freelance journalist/essayist who relates the impact of his family's emigration, the murder of his biological father, the willing-out of deep family secrets, and his own radicalization. Joining a rising tide of new titles examining workplace discontent, Private Equity recounts Chinese immigrant Sun's rapid disillusionment with the Wall Street investment job she landed after graduating from MIT and her breakaway to find a better life (65,000-copy first printing). As recounted in Lost to the World, Taseer was kidnapped in 2011 shortly after the assassination of his father, the governor of the Indian state of Punjab, and held for over four years by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a Taliban-affiliated Uzbek terrorist group horrified that he had spoken in defense of a Christian woman accused of blasphemy.

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2022
The TV star details his career and his major addiction issues. "I don't think it's an exaggeration to suggest that Chandler Bing transformed the way America spoke," writes Perry of his character on the megahit sitcom Friends, who habitually emphasized a different word in a sentence than one might expect. Could this be any bigger of a deal? Apparently not. "Aaron [Sorkin] and Tommy [Schlamme] had changed the way America looked at serialized TV with The West Wing, and I had changed how America spoke English," writes the author. Certainly, plenty of readers will be interested in Perry's fabulous wealth and extraordinary fame--at one point in his life, he was one of the "most famous people in the world--in fact, I was being burned by the white-hot flame of fame"--his unsuccessful relationships with women, his 15 trips to rehab ("I have spent upward of $7 million to get sober"), numerous surgeries for the ravages of opioid-induced constipation, and his inability to add anything significant to his resume after Friends. However, Perry is a blurter, not a storyteller, and no ghostwriter or collaborator was involved in this project. Though he asserts that he does not blame his parents for his difficulties, the author sticks a major pin in the day they sent him on an airplane as an unaccompanied minor when he was 5 years old. Some will find it hard to sympathize with this story, and further mean-spirited outbursts don't help--e.g., "Why is it that original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger died, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?" The concluding chapters trail off into what could be notes for some future acceptance speech. "I am me," he writes. "And that should be enough, it always has been enough." It's not enough to carry this memoir. Strictly for Perry's fans.

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November 11, 2022

"Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead." These words begin this harrowing story of addiction. Best known as Chandler on the TV show Friends, Perry grew up in Canada. When his parents divorced, he remembers flying from Canada to L.A. alone as a five-year-old child to see his dad, which fueled his lifelong feelings of insecurity, an emotional hole difficult to fill. But he tried--first, by being the funny guy, then with alcohol. That first drink at 14 was a revelation. He thought that was what he needed to help fill the void. When he moved to L.A., he thought fame was the answer, especially when he landed Friends. But then he discovered opioids, and his lifelong battle with "the Big Terrible Thing," his addiction, really began. Over 65 detoxes later, Perry is sober, self-aware, and grateful for his life. To hopefully help others, he uses his self-deprecating humor to candidly discuss Friends, lovers, and his addictions. VERDICT A tale of hope for those trying to overcome addiction or in recovery. Friends fans will also likely enjoy Perry's celebrity anecdotes.--Rosellen "Rosy" Brewer

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.