Book info

• Title I'm Glad My Mom Died
• Author Jennette McCurdy
• Year 2022
• Genre Memoir

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.

Thoughts

I listened to the audiobook of this, read by the author, and it is so engaging, I couldn’t stop listening to it. It’s an open and honest story about a difficult upbringing, an overbearing and potentially abusive mother, and the impact that has on a family and the lingering effects after the events. It’s brutal but completely captivating, and so well written and read. I’ve not watched any of the kids shows talked about, but I’m aware of them and it’s continually shocking how some of these young people were treated. I’m very interested in the debut novel that Jennette has published next.

Rating: 5 / 5