A review by erebus53
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

This audiobook feels like it's played back at 125% speed. That makes the delivery a little abrupt in places.

I read this because it was one of the most read books on 2022 in the online book-club I'm in, and I really had no idea what it was about going in. I have no vested interest in the subject matter; for all her fame, Jennette McCurdy (or her character, Sam, in iCarly) was not on my radar at all until now. I wouldn't know her from a bar of soap... except I assume she would be the biped.

This book is seriously grim, I don't know why it didn't rattle me though. I guess I somewhat identified with the eating disorder stuff, to a lesser extent. It's complete garbage how some parents treat their children. Having to live through a childhood on eggshells .. needing to maintain that level of vigilance, even when you don't know that your experience is any different from anyone else's, leaves some serious scars on a person. I have seen it in people close to me.. and it tends to be intergenerational.

Some people go through horrors and come out careful and mindful, and some just come out a bit worn out and snarky. I don't know that I would have ever become friends with someone like Jennette McCurdy, as she is the sort of person who leans away from conflict and then ends up feeling sore about it afterwards. I have always felt on edge around such people. It's a survival thing, but not one I like to be around, and that may be what causes some of my disdain for parts of the book.

I did enjoy some of the one liners; "Our yoghurt has soured" felt very metaphorical and also absurd; the term "thrug" for an awkward three person hug that someone else invites themselves into, feels like a fantastic neologism that I really ought to adopt.
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