Matthew Perry Reveals How Medical Emergency Helped Him to Finally Stop Taking Drugs

Matthew Perry is finally sharing his story in an upcoming memoir. In a new interview ahead of the book’s release, the former Friends star revealed the medical emergency he had that inspired him to get sober and stop using drugs. Perry used the harrowing moment as the opening for the book, titled Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.

Perry, 53, was hospitalized for five months and almost died in 2018 after his colon burst. He told PEOPLE he chose to open the book with this experience to grab the reader’s attention and show “how dark” life can get. “The doctors told my family that I had a two-percent chance to live,” the actor said. “That’s the time I really came close to my life ending. I was put on an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. Every doctor says it’s a Hail Mary. No one survives that. So the big question is why? Why was I the one that survived? There has to be some kind of reason.”

The Odd Couple star said he was in a coma for two weeks. When he woke up, he had a colostomy bag. His doctors told him it was “too messy down there” and they could not do the surgery at the time. Perry could not have the surgery until a year later, he said, adding, “It was pretty hellish having one because they break all the time.”

The experience inspired Perry to stop taking prescription opioids. “My therapist said, ‘The next time you think about taking OxyContin, just think about having a colostomy bag for the rest of your life,’” Perry told PEOPLE. “And a little window opened, and I crawled through it, and I no longer want OxyContin.”

Perry also had a similarly shocking incident that led to him quitting drinking. He believed he sensed God once in his kitchen. There was a “bright yellow object” that made it difficult to see the kitchen, he explained.

“It was just this light, and I felt loved and understood, and in the company of God or whatever,” he told the magazine. “My dad was right next to me and we were holding hands and I was praying when it started, which is something I rarely did. It was like God showed me what’s possible. And then said, ‘Okay. Now you go learn this.’”

Although Perry did not want to say how long he has been sober, he said he still counts every day. “It’s important, but if you lose your sobriety, it doesn’t mean you lose all that time and education,” he explained. “Your sober date changes, but that’s all that changes. You know everything you knew before, as long as you were able to fight your way back without dying, you learn a lot.”

Perry also learned that “everything” begins with sobriety. Without it, “you’re going to lose everything that you put in front of it, so my sobriety is right up there,” he said. Perry is also “grateful to be alive,” and that is a feeling that “gives me the possibility to do anything.” Perry’s book will be released on Nov. 1.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, please call the National Drug Helpline at (844) 289-0879.