Title: I'm Glad My Mom Died
Author and Narrator: Jennette McCurdy
Genre: Adult, nonfiction, memoir
Publication date: August 2022
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Source: Borrowed from library
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Synopsis: 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.
My rating: ★★★★★
I have been intrigued by this book since it came out. I mean, with a title like that you can’t help but pause and go, “What?” But after reading this book and realizing how emotionally manipulative Jennette’s mother was, you understand why it’s called what it is. It’s terrible that her mom had cancer—it’s an awful disease and something no one should go through— but the way she threw that around to get her way was astounding. And that also did not give her the right to treat her family the way she did. Forcing Jennette into acting because that’s something she wanted to do growing up was not okay. Her mom telling her that she just wanted what was best for her and essentially manipulating her into acting... that was rough.
