I’m Glad My Mom Died
I’ve never seen the shows that Jennette McCurdy starred in, but the early buzz around her memoir convinced me to pick it up. I’m glad I did. McCurdy’s telling of her young life spent trying to fulfill her mother’s dreams of stardom was heartbreaking, candid, and insightful. Her mother’s manic rages and hyper-focus on Jennette (and especially her weight) meant that Jennette dealt with anxiety and eating disorders from a young age–while bearing the responsibility of providing for her family.
McCurdy details her struggles with both her mother and on the sets of iCarly and Sam & Cat. While this memoir is largely about her relationship with her mother, the revelations about the lives of child actors are also shocking. The title of this memoir is meant to be provocative, but it’s also true. McCurdy loved her mother, and her feelings are more complex than the title would suggest. Her understanding of herself, her own worth, and her path forward was hard won. Her writing is excellent, as is her narration. Ultimately, all I can say is this: she earns that title.
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Publisher’s Description
A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life.
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.
Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.