Genre: Nonfiction
Length: 320 pages
Audiobook Length: 6 hours and 50 minutes
First Published: 2022
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Rachael’s Review
Both vulnerable and hilarious, Jennette McCurdy’s tell-all memoir sends a poignant message of the dangers of child acting. McCurdy brilliantly embraces her inner child by describing how desperately she wanted to please her mom by acting, even if it lead to an eating disordered and a chaotic relationship with her family. McCurdy idolized her mother so much that she didn’t fully understand the abuse she underwent until attending therapy after her mother’s death.
With its brash cover and title, McCurdy’s memoir has been on top of the bestseller lists since it was released, and for good reason. In this excellent memoir, McCurdy perfectly vocalizes the childlike desire to please your mother, assuming that your mom must only want what’s best for you. From being forced to fulfill her mother’s dream of acting to being taught anorexia, McCurdy gives an in-depth look at abuse by a narcissistic codependent mother and the mental and physical effects that had on her life.
Publisher’s Description
A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life.
Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called “calorie restriction,” eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, “Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn’t tint hers?” She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.
In I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly, she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (“Hi Gale!”), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.
Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.
About Jennette McCurdy
Jennette McCurdy is an actress best known for starring in Nickelodeon’s show iCarly and the spin-off Sam & Cat. Since 2017, McCurdy has given up acting to become a writer and director as well as the star of the one-woman show I’m Glad My Mom Died. McCurdy also hosts the podcast Empty Inside. She currently lives in Los Angeles.
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