Remembering Matthew Perry
From the Editor
It feels like every week we lose another icon of our past. This one hit me hard.
Matthew Perry, the unforgettable, witty and lovable Chandler of the ’90s hit series, “Friends” passed on Oct. 29. He was just 54 years of age.
Perry battled addiction most of his life. With hope that it would help others, Perry was very candid about his struggles in his recent book, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.” As you can surmise, Perry’s long struggle with drug and alcohol addiction was the “the big terrible thing.”
How many of us have lost a loved one, a friend, coworker or neighbor to addiction? In New Jersey alone, more than 100,000 lives are lost to this disease every single year. Yes, addiction is a disease. We need to drop the residual stigma around both addiction and mental health. We need to talk about it with young people and with people of all ages.
Sharing your story can be a lifeline for someone else, giving them the hope and courage to seek treatment. I applaud Perry for that. Like many diseases though, treatment for addictions is typically not a one-stop shop. Rather, it’s a lifelong commitment that often involves relapses along the way. As described in his book published just last year, Perry’s journey was long and hard, including several relapses.
I’ve seen every episode of the 10 seasons that “Friends” aired at least twice, enjoying each even more the second time around. That show was so great that it catapulted each of its six stars into instant mega success.
At their peak, each earned a million dollars per episode – a dream come true! But sadly, all the money in the world couldn’t save Perry from the hell of addiction.
Money can only get you so much in life. All the things that money cannot buy are what matter the most: love, family, health and wellness. Matthew Perry leaves us with one indelible lesson. Don’t wait to love your people. Tell them, hold them and show them how much you love them now. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone. I learned that lesson in 2020 and it’s one that changed me forever.
Rest in peace Matthew Perry, Suzanne Somers and all the others of our era that have gone too soon.
Peace & Love,
Cindy
