Matthew Perry is ready to open up about his past struggles with drug abuse and more in his forthcoming memoir.
Flatiron Books announced they acquired the rights to the "Friends" actor's debut novel on Thursday, Oct. 28. According to the publisher, Perry's book will take "readers behind-the-scenes and onto the soundstage of the most successful sitcom of all time while opening up about his private struggles with addiction."
The memoir is described as "candid, self-aware" and "unflinchingly honest," but also funny.
This will be the first time a main cast member from "Friends" releases a memoir, meaning there will be plenty of new stories for fans of the sitcom to hear. As the publisher put it, "This is the book that 'Friends' fans have been waiting for."
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Editor Megan Lynch said they're excited to bring this book to readers during a "time of isolation and division."
"We need humor, we need catharsis, and we need to agree on something--and Matthew's extraordinary story, told in his inimitable voice, is that thing," she promised.
You Won't Believe All the Stars That Were Almost Cast on 'Friends'
The currently untitled memoir will hit bookshelves in fall 2022.
Perry has long been open about his battle with drug abuse, which began after the actor was prescribed Vicodin for injuries sustained in a 1997 jet ski accident.
Throughout his private struggles, the star maintained his acting career, appearing in "Fools Rush In" and, of course, "Friends."
In 2002, he told The New York Times that he "went to work in extreme cases of hangover." As a result, Perry said, "It's so horrible to feel that way and have to work and be funny on top of that.''
And this didn't go unnoticed by his co-stars, including Lisa Kudrow, who told the newspaper at the time, "When Matthew was sick, it was not fun. We were just hopelessly standing on the sidelines. We were hurting a lot. Matthew is one of the funniest people I've ever met in my life. He's charming and hilarious. Most of our hard laughs came from Matthew.''
Perry later admitted to the "Friends" cast that the series was a source of stress for him. He shared during the HBO Max Friends reunion that he felt immense pressure to make audiences laugh, recalling, "To me, I felt like I was going to die if they didn't laugh... If I didn't get the laugh I was supposed to get, I would freak out."
Though Perry has struggled with alcohol and drug abuse, he maintains a positive outlook on life. "I've had a lot of ups and downs in my life and a lot of wonderful accolades," he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015, "but the best thing about me is that if an alcoholic comes up to me and says, 'Will you help me stop drinking?' I will say, 'Yes. I know how to do that.'"
