Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir by Matthew Perry

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK by Time, Associated Press, Goodreads, USA Today, and more!

“Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”

So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us. . . and so much more.

In an extraordinary story that only he could tell—and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it—Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humor, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is an unforgettable memoir that is both intimate and eye-opening—as well as a hand extended to anyone struggling with sobriety. Unflinchingly honest, moving, and uproariously funny, this is the book fans have been waiting for.

 

 

Anne and Louis: Rulers and Lovers (Anne of Brittany Series) by Rozsa Gaston

 

 

 Anne and Louis: Rulers and Lovers is the stand-alone sequel to Anne and Louis, General Fiction Winner of the Publishers Weekly 2018 BookLife Prize.

The year is 1501, and Europe’s fate rests in the hands of two monarchs at loggerheads.

Anne of Brittany has meticulously devised the perfect match for her only child by Louis XII, King of France. Her daughter will become the most powerful woman in Europe by marrying the future Holy Roman Emperor.

But when Louis abandons her wishes in favor of having their daughter marry his successor, Anne soon finds herself locked in a political struggle with the fate of Europe hanging between them. Things only get worse when Louis hatches a plan to conquer southern Italy.

Anne orders him to stay away from Italy, but Louis is determined to gain a foothold there for France. Joining Ferdinand of Spain in a secret, devious pact to divide southern Italy between them, he plans to secure glory for France and expand his empire. But with rivals on all sides and allies he can’t trust, Louis soon discovers that the age of chivalry is over…

As lovers, Anne and Louis are alive with passion. As rulers, they’re at each other’s throats. The future of Europe rests in their hands. Who will prevail?

Book Three of the Anne of Brittany Series of which Anne and Charles is Book One, Anne and Louis is Book Two.