I can see why people may give this a low rating, because it does jop around in time quite a bit, making it a little confusing at times. Matthew Perry also talks about the way he went through women as though they were pairs of trainers he was wearing out.

But, in this book he is brutally honest about addiction and where it can take you. And therefore, it is not surprising that he treated people the way he did, because that’s what addicts do. They are the centre of their own universe and everybody else just lives there.

I sometimes wonder if I just imagined being addicted to alcohol. I sometimes think that maybe I was just overreacting and I could perhaps have a couple of glasses of wine on a Friday night. But then I read books like this one and so many of the thought processes described are identical to the way my own brain works.

It sometimes scares me to hear people who think like I do, because it reminds me of where I was, and where I could go to if I relax my rules. I was getting to the point where I thought it was OK to drink before the end of work, and to drink before midday on my days off. It was becoming a prison, and it’s one that is still there waiting for me if I want to go there.

Sometimes, reading a book about someone who slid far further down that slippery slide can give you a little fright, and that was what this one did for me. Interestingly, Perry said that he would give up all of his millions to have the peace of mind of not having his crippling addictions.

So, it’s true that fame and fortune isn’t the answer. And we need more brave voices out there tolet people know that this illness is a killer, and even millions of dollars can’t take it away.

Much Love

Rachel xx