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A review by amyvl93
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
This memoir was everywhere last year, and after listening to a couple of interviews with McCurdy, I finally bit the bullet and picked up a copy. And I am so, so glad I did.
McCurdy is an excellent writer - this book really packs a punch and shows real narrative maturity as Jennette moves from reflecting on her childhood into her early 20s. This is a memoir that deals with just about every trigger warning you can imagine, but it never feels gratuitous, it just feels real. This is supported by the fact that McCurdy doesn't let herself off the hook for her less gracious moments or thoughts and feelings about other people - she's unflinchingly honest here.
Whilst there are anecdotes about the making of the Nickelodeon shows that propelled her to child TV stardom, these are less interesting than the way the entertainment machine experts its young stars to be both child and adult, and the way that they are (or, hopefully, were) manipulated into staying quiet about the darker, behind the scenes moments. The impact of this strangely halted growth are seen in particular within the romantic relationships that McCurdy writes about here.
The core of this memoir, as the title suggests, is McCurdy's incredibly difficult relationship with her Mum. It is her Mum who forces her into acting, who enrols her in numerous dance classes a week after failing one audition, who introduces her daughter to extreme dieting and refuses to have her children really experience growing up and away from her. She's an incredibly difficult character to read about, and McCurdy does a great job of avoiding villainising her whilst simultaneously sharing just how troubling her behaviour really was.
I hope Jennette can live a life that truly makes her happy now - and I really look forward to her stretching her writing muscles more.
McCurdy is an excellent writer - this book really packs a punch and shows real narrative maturity as Jennette moves from reflecting on her childhood into her early 20s. This is a memoir that deals with just about every trigger warning you can imagine, but it never feels gratuitous, it just feels real. This is supported by the fact that McCurdy doesn't let herself off the hook for her less gracious moments or thoughts and feelings about other people - she's unflinchingly honest here.
Whilst there are anecdotes about the making of the Nickelodeon shows that propelled her to child TV stardom, these are less interesting than the way the entertainment machine experts its young stars to be both child and adult, and the way that they are (or, hopefully, were) manipulated into staying quiet about the darker, behind the scenes moments. The impact of this strangely halted growth are seen in particular within the romantic relationships that McCurdy writes about here.
The core of this memoir, as the title suggests, is McCurdy's incredibly difficult relationship with her Mum. It is her Mum who forces her into acting, who enrols her in numerous dance classes a week after failing one audition, who introduces her daughter to extreme dieting and refuses to have her children really experience growing up and away from her. She's an incredibly difficult character to read about, and McCurdy does a great job of avoiding villainising her whilst simultaneously sharing just how troubling her behaviour really was.
I hope Jennette can live a life that truly makes her happy now - and I really look forward to her stretching her writing muscles more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Sexual assault and Schizophrenia/Psychosis