Midweek Obsessions, Vol. 3

Grieving celebrity deaths, saying goodbye to Silver Lake, and Keegan-Michael Key's new book.

☕ Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

If you spoke to me last fall, you probably heard me talking about Matthew Perry’s memoir. It moved me very deeply, and to be honest, it didn’t reflect all that well on the author. It was Perry’s candor that deeply impressed me more than anything. I didn’t think he came off as a particularly good guy, but he did come off as a comic genius, and sincere in his desire to help fellow addicts. I dramatically scaled back my own drinking after reading his book, not only because his story was so frightening, but because Perry outlined the unease with the world that is one path to addiction— an unease I recognized.