Popular actor Matthew Perry, best known for playing the character of Chandler Bing in hit TV sitcom Friends, opens up about his drug addiction in his upcoming memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing. This memoir will be out on November 1. 

“I wanted to share when I was safe from going into the dark side of everything again,” he told PEOPLE, “I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober — and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction — to write it all down. And the main thing was, I was pretty certain that it would help people.”

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Perry experienced a near death experience when he suffered from gastrointestinal perforation from opioid overdose, due to which he spent two weeks in coma and five months in the hospital and had to use a colostomy bag for nine months. 

“The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live,” he told the magazine. “I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.”

When the actor was first casted for the role of Chandler Bing, his addiction was just starting to surface, which escalated throughout every season that followed. Perry said that season 9 was the season where he was completely sober. “And guess which season I got nominated for best actor? I was like, ‘That should tell me something,” he said. 

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He told the magazine that the cast of Friends was extremely supportive as he battled his addiction. They were understanding and patient towards him and provided necessary aid when required. Perry used the example of Penguins, when one penguin is sick or injured, the others surround it and give their support until the injured penguin can walk by itself. “That’s kind of what the cast did for me,” he said as he appreciated them. 

He has been to rehab about 15 times and has been completely sober recently. “I’ve got to not go to the gym much more, because I don’t want to only be able to play superheroes. But no, I’m a pretty healthy guy right now,” he jokingly said.