I'm Glad My Mom Died
by Jeannette McCurdy
Narrated by the author
Listening length 6 hours, 26 minutes
Publicizations date August 9, 2022
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.
This book just made me sad. The whole time listening, I could see the abusive relationship Jeanette had with her mother (probably the reason the book is titled "I'm glad my mom died") but it made me miss my mom even more. Not a great time for me to have read this book (over my own mother's birthday, the 9th she is celebrating in Heaven). McCurdy points out that we tend to put mother's on a pedestal and I can see that... I don't want to take mine off of hers!
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.
This book just made me sad. The whole time listening, I could see the abusive relationship Jeanette had with her mother (probably the reason the book is titled "I'm glad my mom died") but it made me miss my mom even more. Not a great time for me to have read this book (over my own mother's birthday, the 9th she is celebrating in Heaven). McCurdy points out that we tend to put mother's on a pedestal and I can see that... I don't want to take mine off of hers!
I'm glad that McCurdy was able to get the peace she needed with the relationship she had with her mom, I can't imagine how hard her life was (despite the luxury we might have seen from the outside). Sharing her story can't have been easy for her, but I hope, in some way, she was able to find healing in this and that maybe (just maybe) her story might help someone out of a similar situation. If not with the mother-type relationship, then maybe with the eating disorder. I think it's a book worth reading for sure. McCurdy defiantly has some lessons to teach others through the hard times she has been forced to live through. Hope to see some lighter stories from her someday!
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