With the news of the death of Matthew Perry, his past has come back to surface. During his time on the well known show “Friends,” he struggled with substance addiction. He said that doing the show helped him regain hope. It was during the show that he was struggling with substance abuse, but Perry shared that his cast-mates provided a beacon of hope during his dark times.
In 2022 he published his memoir – “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” – that told his story about his three decade addiction. It was known that it “shed a powerful light for anyone who is in their own battle for themselves or a loved one.” When he participated in “Friends: The Reunion,” he said that he stayed in rehab twice, and he has said that he doesn’t remember parts of his time on the shows. “I don’t remember three years of it,” he told BBC Radio 2 in 2016.
With Perry telling his stories about his struggles and abuse, it helped many people learn how to lead themselves and loved ones into their own path of recovery. His unexpected death is tragic, but he will be remembered as a fighter. He shared his stories so others could know that no matter what, no one is perfect, and everyone has their struggles. He shared his struggles so people could know how to help themselves get through their hard paths.
Seeing as how “Friends” was a very well known and liked show, many students were fans of the show. The passing of Matthew Perry has taken a toll on a lot of people.
“I was a bit surprised by how sudden it was and how it happened, but also not too surprised because of his known past addictions.” Said Chody Sweeney, “I think he was a good actor and a resilient man with how he got over his drug and alcohol abuse.”
“It’s really tragic considering he had recently done an interview where he talked about his struggles with addiction. A whole generation was basically raised on friends. He was also in his 50’s, way too young to pass away,” Ava Hendrickson said. “If anything can be learned from this,” Ava continued, “it would be that life is short. Don’t spend your life hiding your faults. Live life truly.”