A review by apollo0325
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

4.25

As an avid iCarly viewer in the mid-aughts, Sam Puckett was 100% my favorite character. Hilarious, strong, and absolutely wack, I loved her energy. So when Jennette McCurdy announced a memoir that chronicled her early childhood into her twenties that included snippets of her time on iCarly, I knew I had to read it. I hardly keep up with most celebrities, but I always wondered what had happened to Jennette over the years after iCarly (I never watched Sam & Cat because I don’t like Ariana Grande lmao).

This was such a heartbreaking memoir. It was simple in writing but so smart in a way that Jennette just didn’t hide her feelings or gave us information without any particular emotional attachment so we as the readers could assess the situation for ourselves. The situation was pretty fucked from beginning to end. As someone who is a recovering emotional binge eater, it was not easy to read those similar thoughts reflected through McCurdy’s experience. While the disorders may be different, the feelings are identical. Powerlessness, frustration, anxiety, it all coalesces into shame, guilt, and for some, tragedy.

McCurdy wrote a powerful and moving memoir. It was beautiful and tragic, and I hope one day, McCurdy finds the peace she deserves.

A small, personal critique I had with the book was some difficulty parsing the timeline. We spend a lot of our time in Jennette’s early childhood prior to being casted as a regular on iCarly, but from there, time seems to move much faster. Only slight pacing issues.

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