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4.5 AVERAGE
4.5 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
fast-paced
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fast-paced
I really enjoyed this memoir. I deeply resonate with the way Jennette talks about the trauma she endured and the coping mechanisms she developed to deal with that. And the healing process that comes thereafter.
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This therapeutic memoir of a former Nickelodeon child star was not at all what I expected - well, the first half actually was as McCurdy extensively recounts how unbelievably abusive her mentally ill her narcissistic mother was as she pushed her child protégée into self-serving stardom. What was thoroughly unexpected is how this morphed into McCurdy’s unfortunate battle with her own mental illnesses ranging from anorexia (thanks to her mom for severely and cruelly restricting her caloric intake so she would keep her daughter a child star “forever”), bulimia, alcoholism, and OCD, and how McCurdy made the brave choice to exit the Hollywood lifestyle to put her mental health first.
I don’t think she ever actually says she’s glad her mom died, but you will admit to being silently happy for McCurdy because her mom, though suffering from mental illness, was so utterly horrible to Jennette that you feel the vicarious relief she must have felt as she literally fights a mountainous uphill battle to get her life back and develop her own identity away from stardom and her mom’s constant chaos and confusion.
I feel for this young woman and applaud her courage to write this book and begrudgingly thrust herself back into an unwanted limelight to tell her story. She doesn’t play the victim - she just tells it like it is. I remember now when I used to watch her, and now my memories of fond reminiscence are tainted with the brutal reality that Jeanette aka “Sam Puckett” experienced throughout her brief, entertaining tenure of a former child star. Part of me wants her to try acting again, but the other part of me wants her to stay sane and take care of her fragile self without undue risk or further harm.
Thank you, Jennette, for telling your difficult story that will hopefully make a therapeutic difference to other young women. You are enough.
I don’t think she ever actually says she’s glad her mom died, but you will admit to being silently happy for McCurdy because her mom, though suffering from mental illness, was so utterly horrible to Jennette that you feel the vicarious relief she must have felt as she literally fights a mountainous uphill battle to get her life back and develop her own identity away from stardom and her mom’s constant chaos and confusion.
I feel for this young woman and applaud her courage to write this book and begrudgingly thrust herself back into an unwanted limelight to tell her story. She doesn’t play the victim - she just tells it like it is. I remember now when I used to watch her, and now my memories of fond reminiscence are tainted with the brutal reality that Jeanette aka “Sam Puckett” experienced throughout her brief, entertaining tenure of a former child star. Part of me wants her to try acting again, but the other part of me wants her to stay sane and take care of her fragile self without undue risk or further harm.
Thank you, Jennette, for telling your difficult story that will hopefully make a therapeutic difference to other young women. You are enough.
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I’ve wanted to read (or rather, listen to the audiobook narrated by Jennette) since this book came out.
It’s so devastating to know that someone who made my childhood, went through so much.
It’s so devastating to know that someone who made my childhood, went through so much.
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It is honest and raw and well paced for a memoir. The writing is simple and sometimes a little clunky, but I think that’s more a question of reader preference than an actual flaw.
I think two memoirs by women in entertainment struggling with mental health issues per year is a healthy max for me.
I think two memoirs by women in entertainment struggling with mental health issues per year is a healthy max for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Vomit, Alcohol
emotional
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emotional
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challenging
dark
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inspiring
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medium-paced