Published: 2022
Pages: 320
Genre: Biography, Humour, Non-Fiction, Memoir, Mental Health
My rating: 10/10
Synopsis:
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.
My review:
WOW. This book is just wow. I laughed out loud (like, actual laughter here, out loud) so many times in this book. I was also horrified, shocked, slightly teary at times, and unable to put this book down. It was such a great book to read and so hard to read and so unbelievable.
Jennette went through so much in such a short period of time, she’s so young to have lived through that much trauma. The worst thing is that so much of her life, she didn’t even realise it was trauma she was living through because this was just normal to her. Her mum had serious mental issues, but she was still Jennette’s mum at the end of the day and she loved her. That comes through clear, this struggle between the love she had for her mum, and her deep intense hatred and the guilt of the hatred and the trauma.
There is also a lot – and I mean, a LOT – about her experience as a child star for Nickelodeon. The sleazy directors, the uncomfortable costuming, the bizarre life of a child actor – it’s all here, it’s all fascinating, it’s all frankly horrifying. This is a car-crash that you cannot look away from, and boy is it so damn good.
I have recommended it to my bookclub and most of the girls at work because I was so impressed by the book. It did the rounds as the IT-Book of late 2022, and it was for good reason. It is such a fascinating book, it is so easy to read and yet filled with so much really hard and triggering information. It is told in a way that makes dark and heavy material easy to read. Jennette is amazing. Her dark humour comes through strong and clear, and you cannot help liking her.
I want to re-read this book again, I enjoyed it so much. It’s triggering though, so it is not for everyone. It deals with eating disorders, an abusive parent, and mental health issues – so if this sort of thing is triggering, this might not be the book for you.
Linky-doos
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59364173-i-m-glad-my-mom-died
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/Im-Glad-My-Mom-Died/dp/1982185821
Dymocks: https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/im-glad-my-mom-died-by-jennette-mccurdy-9781982185824
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/i-m-glad-my-mom-died-jennette-mccurdy/book/9781982185824.html
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Glad_My_Mom_Died