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A review by marjanabosnjak
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
I'm not going to rate this book as I very rarely rate non-fiction.
This book was Jennette McCurdy's truth and I hope telling it helps her in her recovery process. I hope she gets to live the life she was robbed of and that everything finally falls into place for her.
If you think the title is brutal, then maybe you're not ready for the contents of the book. Several trigger warnings apply:
eating disorders/binging, terminal illness, alcohol abuse, Dan Schneider, child stardom, abusive and narcissistic mother, depression/mental health, etc. Beware.
So I feel like I'm not the best person to write a review for this book because I've read so many other reviews that fully sum it all up.
What I will say is that it's a good book. It is a very dark book. It's not easy to read in one sitting nor do I recommend anyone to try. It's too heavy.
Jennette introduces us to her life and describes how she got into acting and what toll it took on her as the years went on. She describes her mother's wish to pursue this career at a very young age because her mother wanted to live vicariously through her. Her mom was in recovery from cancer but she always used the disease as a way to manipulate everyone around her into getting what she wanted. If Jennette didn't do as her mother wanted, she'd be faulted if the cancer came back.
Jennette also described how her toxic relationship with food was introduced to her through her mom, glorifying it as a means to stop aging. She wanted her daughter to keep booking roles for younger kids, and Jennette wanted to make her mom happy.
With a mom like that, I don't fault Jennette for choosing that title for the book. She earned it. She earned the right to say what went on. She also earned the right to feel relief. For her entire life, her one purpose was to make her mom happy. And without her, she can now finally figure out who she truly is.
We are complex human beings, capable of feeling more than one thing at a time. Two things can be true at the same time: You can be glad someone's no longer in your life. You can still miss them.
Jennette also goes on to describe how she felt once her mother's cancer came back, and after her passing. She described the feeling of loss and feeling lost. She described the work environment even when her mother was alive, but also after. And eventually, she reached the point of why she declined to do iCarly reunion show. It all made sense and I am glad that she had decided to do what's best for her.
She also mentioned her friendship with Miranda Cosgrove which is so pure and sweet. She mentioned how unfair it was for Ariana Grande to be allowed to do stuff outside of Sam & Cat while Jennette was getting a completey different treatment (you can love Ari as much as I do and completely understand where Jennette's coming from - it's not about Ari. It's about Jennette). She also talked about Nickelodeon trying to sweep Dan Schneider's inappropriate behavior with children under the rug and blame it on her.
So much more but this is just a glimpse into behind the scenes of Hollywood.
It would make anyone lose their minds.
This book was Jennette McCurdy's truth and I hope telling it helps her in her recovery process. I hope she gets to live the life she was robbed of and that everything finally falls into place for her.
If you think the title is brutal, then maybe you're not ready for the contents of the book. Several trigger warnings apply:
eating disorders/binging, terminal illness, alcohol abuse, Dan Schneider, child stardom, abusive and narcissistic mother, depression/mental health, etc. Beware.
So I feel like I'm not the best person to write a review for this book because I've read so many other reviews that fully sum it all up.
What I will say is that it's a good book. It is a very dark book. It's not easy to read in one sitting nor do I recommend anyone to try. It's too heavy.
Jennette introduces us to her life and describes how she got into acting and what toll it took on her as the years went on. She describes her mother's wish to pursue this career at a very young age because her mother wanted to live vicariously through her. Her mom was in recovery from cancer but she always used the disease as a way to manipulate everyone around her into getting what she wanted. If Jennette didn't do as her mother wanted, she'd be faulted if the cancer came back.
Jennette also described how her toxic relationship with food was introduced to her through her mom, glorifying it as a means to stop aging. She wanted her daughter to keep booking roles for younger kids, and Jennette wanted to make her mom happy.
With a mom like that, I don't fault Jennette for choosing that title for the book. She earned it. She earned the right to say what went on. She also earned the right to feel relief. For her entire life, her one purpose was to make her mom happy. And without her, she can now finally figure out who she truly is.
We are complex human beings, capable of feeling more than one thing at a time. Two things can be true at the same time: You can be glad someone's no longer in your life. You can still miss them.
Jennette also goes on to describe how she felt once her mother's cancer came back, and after her passing. She described the feeling of loss and feeling lost. She described the work environment even when her mother was alive, but also after. And eventually, she reached the point of why she declined to do iCarly reunion show. It all made sense and I am glad that she had decided to do what's best for her.
She also mentioned her friendship with Miranda Cosgrove which is so pure and sweet. She mentioned how unfair it was for Ariana Grande to be allowed to do stuff outside of Sam & Cat while Jennette was getting a completey different treatment (you can love Ari as much as I do and completely understand where Jennette's coming from - it's not about Ari. It's about Jennette). She also talked about Nickelodeon trying to sweep Dan Schneider's inappropriate behavior with children under the rug and blame it on her.
So much more but this is just a glimpse into behind the scenes of Hollywood.
It would make anyone lose their minds.