Book Review: I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Title: I'm Glad My Mom Died

Author: Jennette McCurdy

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Adult

Pages: 320

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year Published: 2022

Format: Audiobook

"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 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 rating based on writing style: 5/5

I always let people know when I am rating a nonfiction/memoir that I am rating it based on writing style. Not on the story (it's someone's life for crying out loud). This was a hard read to get through. While the audiobook was 6 hours it was not an easy listening book based on the subject matter, but I think the more we learn about some of the things that child actors go through the better we can prepare the world. There are always going to be child actors but how we go about the system needs to change. The fact that Jennette was suffering and there was never an intervention until she was an adult speaks volumes about the child acting scene and shows I would have watched growing up. Thoughtful, dark and important, I would recommend this book. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny