Friends star Matthew Perry’s autobiography overtakes Britney Spears memoir to become Amazon bestseller in US and UK following his death aged 54

Matthew Perry’s memoir has returned to number one in the US and UK charts as fans revisit the actor’s account of his life after his tragic death at the age of 54.

The Friends actor’s autobiography is another bestseller almost exactly a year after its release, overtaking Britney Spears’ long-awaited memoir in the Amazon rankings.

Perry’s shocking death in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home on Saturday prompted an outpouring of grief from around the world, with his co-stars saying they were “devastated” by his death and that they had been more like a family than castmates.

Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing documents Perry’s time on the beloved sitcom, which ran for ten seasons, and also reveals harrowing details about his long-term battle with addiction.

The Emmy-nominated actor had been candid about his experiences before the book’s release, but opened up like never before in its 250 pages.

Now the book has overtaken pop star Britney Spears’ memoir The Woman in Me – her first in-depth account of her life and career, which became an instant bestseller when it was released last week.

Perry’s memoir made headlines last year for the openness and frankness with which he described his health problems during extensive media rounds.

He revealed that he had spent $9 million to get sober, and admitted that he had attended 6,000 AA meetings, gone to rehab 15 times and been in detox 65 times.

In addition to his revelations about the horrific effects of drug and alcohol addiction – which left him with a ruptured colon and a coma – Perry made a chilling statement in the book’s prologue.

“I should be dead,” he wrote. “My mind is trying to kill me, and I know it. I am constantly filled with a dormant loneliness, a longing, clinging to the idea that something outside of me will restore me.’

A 1997 jet ski accident on the set of his film Fools Rush In left him hospitalized and later became addicted to the opioid painkiller Vicodin.

He said at one point he was taking 55 Vicodin pills a day and his weight dropped to 128 pounds.

In 2000 he was taken to hospital with pancreatitis and in 2018 his colon burst.

“The doctors told my family I had a two percent chance of living,” Perry told Diane Sawyer during a promotional interview for his book.

‘I was given a so-called ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.’

Perry spent nearly two weeks in a coma and five months in the hospital, after which he used a colostomy bag for nine months.

He said he was only sober for one of the ten seasons of Friends.

He announced that he had overcome addiction in 2021 and was living a healthier lifestyle.

He appeared in the Friends reunion show alongside castmates Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Courtney Coz ​​​​and Lisa Kudrow in 2022.

Reflecting on his time on Friends in his autobiography, the star described the support he received from his castmates: “They were understanding and patient,” Perry said.

“You could say (doing the show) saved me.”

As the star of one of the biggest shows in the world, Perry’s book was an instant hit and became the biggest celebrity memoir of 2022.

He said in an interview with People that the writing process came naturally: “It all flew out of me.”

‘It wasn’t that difficult a book to write. It’s harder to read because you’re like, ‘Wow, this is a terrible story.’ But there’s a sense of humor in it.’

In an article for GQ, Perry described reading his completed manuscript.

“I read it,” he said, “and cried and cried and cried. I said, “Oh, my God, this person has had the worst life imaginable!” And then I realized, ‘This is me, what I’m talking about.’

Perry’s tragic death has come as a shock to many, including his Friends co-stars – with an associate of Lisa Kudrow saying it ‘doesn’t seem real’.

‘Matthew was finally at peace with himself and had the best year of his life since his book launch almost exactly a year ago. He was enjoying life,” Kudrow’s friend said.

Perry tragically passed away Saturday at the age of 54 at his home in Pacific Palisades.

He hadn’t been in his hot tub long before his assistant discovered his lifeless body and tried to revive him, according to a new report.

Law enforcement sources said TMZ that Perry’s body was not “soaked” when emergency services arrived on the scene, where he was pronounced dead.