Recent Reads: I'm Glad my Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

I'm Glad my Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy  Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date:  August 9, 2022

 

Format: Hardback
Source: Bought

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by 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.

Review: 

Trigger Warnings: This book discusses family trauma, eating disorders, and addiction. 

This poor girl. This memoir was tragic and eye-opening and I feel for Jennette. I didn't watch a lot of Nickelodeon when she was on iCarly or Sam & Cat, but I know of her from those shows since I had younger siblings that watched them. I was super interested in reading this book even before I started seeing others read it, I honestly didn't even realize whose memoir it was, it was a catchy title and I had heard good things about it, knowing her characters I became even more intruiged to pick it up.

Jennette tells her story from her point of view at the age she is writing about versus looking back. She starts readers slightly before she became an actress and talked about her living situation, her parents and family, and how she felt about her situation at the time. We travel with her through the years of auditions, dance classes, acting classes, her mother's imposing nature, and so much more. The whole thing was so candid and heartbreaking. It was heard-hitting and so worth all the hype that it recieved and so much more. That being said, there were a few media articles that I saw that I think focused too strongly on silly things, like jealousy, versus the glaring issue that Jennette struggled with - her eating and weight. I think a lot of that was played down by some media outlets and it was the more pressing issue of the memior. 

Jennette went through a lot as a child actress, I don't blame her for quitting, and I don't blame her for being glad that her mother died - because throughout reading this I was SO mad at her mother for teaching her things that she did and forcing her to act by using guilt. This was so detimental to Jennette's mental health and I feel for her so strongly after reading this. 

If you are looking for a very real read, this is it. Jennette is so open and honest about her time spent in the acting world. She talks about her peers and management, and obviously, her mother pushing her, but also about how it all felt along the way, it is a rough read, but it is a good one.