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kelly_e 's review for:
I'm Glad My Mom Died
by Jennette McCurdy
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Title: I'm Glad My Mom died
Author: Jennette McCurdy
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: August 9, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Unfiltered • Visceral • Vulnerable
📖 S Y N O P S I S
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.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I didn't know who Jennette McCurdy was when I decided to give this memoir a listen, yet I had definitely seen all of the buzz surrounding it. It is no surprise I'm Glad My Mom Died was the Goodreads Choice Award winner for best memoir/autobiography in 2022. It is incredibly raw and hard hitting while also being well thought out. I listened to the audio, read by Jennette herself, which is something in itself.
Written in short, crisp chapters (thank goodness), Jennette's memoir is compulsively readable, yet also churned my stomach. I was able to take my time getting through what is an incredibly jarring and awful account of parental manipulation, abuse, and gaslighting. The author doesn't hold back, reveling intimate details of her struggles with body dysphoria, eating disorders, and addiction. Told chronologically, this structure suited Jennette's story as it gives the reader a sense of time and places as she ages from a young girl to teenage star to a woman. Although I didn't always jive with her dry humour, I can definitely see how it could easily have developed as a coping mechanism.
Another thing this memoir does is shine a light on the problematic nature of child stars. Jennette openly says all she wanted to do was to please her mom and it was really her mom that wanted her to be a star. Although not all cases are the same, this story showcases the immense psychological, emotional, and physical effects the pressure can have on many children who are thrust into the limelight at a very young age.
I am not sure I can get fully behind titling this memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died. The reason being that it seems like there is more marketing and shock value behind the title than anything else. Do I think as many people would have ready this memoir had it been alternatively titled? The short answer is no.
I'm Glad My Mom Died is a memoir worth exploring for anyone with an interest in celebrity life and child stars. It is incredibly heavy, covering a wide array of deeply disturbing content, and I would definitely suggest heading caution before picking it up.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• memoirs enthusiasts
• parents
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"I always forget that trying to reason with the unreasonable is... unreasonable."
"Mom didn’t get better. But I will."
"Her death left me with more questions than answers, more pain than healing, and many layers of grief - the initial grief from her passing, then the grief of accepting her abuse and exploitation of me, and finally, the grief that surfaces now when I miss her and start to cry - because I do still miss her and start to cry."
Author: Jennette McCurdy
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: August 9, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Unfiltered • Visceral • Vulnerable
📖 S Y N O P S I S
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.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I didn't know who Jennette McCurdy was when I decided to give this memoir a listen, yet I had definitely seen all of the buzz surrounding it. It is no surprise I'm Glad My Mom Died was the Goodreads Choice Award winner for best memoir/autobiography in 2022. It is incredibly raw and hard hitting while also being well thought out. I listened to the audio, read by Jennette herself, which is something in itself.
Written in short, crisp chapters (thank goodness), Jennette's memoir is compulsively readable, yet also churned my stomach. I was able to take my time getting through what is an incredibly jarring and awful account of parental manipulation, abuse, and gaslighting. The author doesn't hold back, reveling intimate details of her struggles with body dysphoria, eating disorders, and addiction. Told chronologically, this structure suited Jennette's story as it gives the reader a sense of time and places as she ages from a young girl to teenage star to a woman. Although I didn't always jive with her dry humour, I can definitely see how it could easily have developed as a coping mechanism.
Another thing this memoir does is shine a light on the problematic nature of child stars. Jennette openly says all she wanted to do was to please her mom and it was really her mom that wanted her to be a star. Although not all cases are the same, this story showcases the immense psychological, emotional, and physical effects the pressure can have on many children who are thrust into the limelight at a very young age.
I am not sure I can get fully behind titling this memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died. The reason being that it seems like there is more marketing and shock value behind the title than anything else. Do I think as many people would have ready this memoir had it been alternatively titled? The short answer is no.
I'm Glad My Mom Died is a memoir worth exploring for anyone with an interest in celebrity life and child stars. It is incredibly heavy, covering a wide array of deeply disturbing content, and I would definitely suggest heading caution before picking it up.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• memoirs enthusiasts
• parents
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"I always forget that trying to reason with the unreasonable is... unreasonable."
"Mom didn’t get better. But I will."
"Her death left me with more questions than answers, more pain than healing, and many layers of grief - the initial grief from her passing, then the grief of accepting her abuse and exploitation of me, and finally, the grief that surfaces now when I miss her and start to cry - because I do still miss her and start to cry."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment
Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content
binge eating, OCD, anxiety, grooming