Matthew Perry on his addiction: ‘I almost died so many times’ | backbiting

Matthew Perry tells in his new book Friends, lovers and the great terrible thing about the unpleasant experiences he has had as a result of his addiction. In an interview with the magazine People says the actor that he himself was only allowed to start writing when he had really stopped drinking. The book will be out next month.

“I wanted to share my story once I stopped sliding into the dark side,” says Perry. “I had to wait to write until I was sober and never came into contact with alcohol and addiction again,” said Perry, 53. She wrote the book with a clear purpose: “The most important thing was that I was sure it would help people.”

Perry opens the book revealing that at the age of 49, just a few years ago, he was almost dead. At the time, all he told the audience was that he suffered from him a gastrointestinal perforation. This is a puncture of the stomach or intestines. In real life, her colon had burst from an opioid overdose. He was in a coma for two weeks and had to stay in the hospital for five months. The actor also used an ostomy bag for nine months.

“I think people who read it will be surprised at how bad I’ve been at times and how many times I’ve almost died,” Perry told IPS. People. “I wrote that if I died, I would shock people but it wouldn’t surprise them. It’s a very scary thought to live with. So I hope people can relate to it and know that this disease (addiction, ed) all if ‘If it’s successful or less, the disease doesn’t matter. “

Perry acted Friends the sarcastic joker Chandler Bing. Since the late nineties – when the success of Friends it was in its prime – Perry ended up in rehab twice. First with an addiction to the vicodin painkiller and then because he was addicted to opiates, amphetamines and alcohol.