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Rating: 5/5 stars
Jennette McCurdy tells the story of her life as a child actress and her struggles with an abusive mother, an eating disorder, and addiction.
I’m late to the party on this one, so I’ll keep this short and sweet, but let me just say the rumors are true: this is phenomenal. I’ve gone through a number of celebrity memoirs this year, and even among some great ones this is easily the best one I’ve read.
Jennette’s story is so heartbreaking and horrific but also so beautifully and thoughtfully rendered, and her narration is spot on. I truly hope she continues writing, either nonfiction or fiction, because she clearly has such a deep talent for it. If you’re looking for a memoir to read, please read this one.
CW: Abuse (emotional, some physical); sexual content including suggestions of exploitation of a minor/young adult; addiction/alcoholism; eating disorder; terminal illness/death of parent
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Stalking
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer
Moderate: Child abuse
I also found McCurdy's dark, dry sense of humor interesting, and it began to feel like the glimmers of her independent selfhood shining through the misery and control imposed on her by her mother and, eventually, the television industry as a whole. Celebrity authors bring so much name recognition from their other career work that I don't tend to automatically trust their books as deserving of the hype they ride on. There has to be real substance there, not just a famous name. This book proved something to me, and demonstrated such substance. I heard that McCurdy is working on a novel, and based on her writing here, I will keep an eye out for it.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Dysphoria
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria
Minor: Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Moderate: Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Grief
Minor: Body horror, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Stalking
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria