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Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Classism
Jennette McCurdy has been one of my favorite actresses since I was a kid. We are around the same age, so I felt like I grew up with her. I started out as an iCarly fan and was disappointed when Between wasn’t renewed for a 3rd season. To find out that someone whose characters brought me laughter and excitement was suffering the whole time was heartbreaking.
This book is raw and real. If you have any issues with abuse, eating disorders, and the loss of a person you should hate but can’t… it’s going to hit you even harder.
I don’t know if authors read their own reviews, but if so I hope she knows the positive impact she had on people. I was the weird kid. Sam on iCarly made me feel like I was just in the wrong place. It was okay that I was weird. The show in Between gave me my horror escape when I was dealing with the fallout of a bad relationship. I hope someday that is reflected back on the author.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria
Moderate: Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Stalking
I was always a big fan of iCarly and, more importantly, Sam & Cat. Plus, not to flex or anything, but I did know Jeanette McCurdy's name (though strangely, never Miranda Cosgrove's until the finale). So listening to it was particularly affective to me. It's strange, trying to disentangle the happy memories of formative childhood memories with what I now know to be brutal child abuse. I also wonder if I had been better primed for reading this book as someone who had watched CJ the X's video about the "Neurosis of Cat Valentine", which ends rather somberly with CJ telling of what, at the time, McCurdy had revealed of her experience through her art or her interviews, which in broad strokes is very similar to I'm Glad My Mother Died.
This, in many ways, feels like it should be the nail in the coffin of even the very concept of child actors. At this point, there's overwhelming evidence that very few child actors turn out happy, or that their experience was bettered by the time in the limelight. It's quite brutal, honestly, to hear McCurdy's cynical thoughts about being a child actor. Not that I disagree, but it feels so alien to hear it from the horse's mouth. In press junkets, child actorhood is always framed as a learning experience.
As for the relationship between McCurdy and her mother, I am endlessly reminded of Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, and the subsequent thinkpieces about it. I'm sympathetic to McCurdy's plight, but I also wonder about the ways I've been shaped by my mother and our racial-familial relationship, because when McCurdy describes the emotional disconnect between the vitriolic things you can say to each other but then turning around like nothing happens feels so familiar to me. But when McCurdy finishes by describing her cutting lose from her mother, I do not feel the catharsis, maybe; my own mother is not a narcissist, nor pushed me to be particularly famous (if I was, I wouldn't be sitting here writing a review about someone else's book!). Endlessly, I can't help but think about a post someone made about EEAAO, about how despite how you and your mother may argue, she's the only other person in this world who might even have a fighting chance of understanding you.
For what it's worth, I'm glad McCurdy has some form of closure. And, I'm glad the book is hyper-successful.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol
Moderate: Ableism, Infidelity
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Cancer, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting
Moderate: Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Abandonment
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Sexual harassment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol