I'm Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy

I'm Glad My Mom Died

By Jennette McCurdy

  • Release Date: 2022-08-09
  • Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 9,522 Ratings

Description

* #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * MORE THAN 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD!

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.

Reviews

  • RAW EMOTIONS!

    5
    By Raw Emotions!
    I love this book so much it has such good detail and raw emotion it really makes you feel everything she felt: its amazing to have her share these feelings with the reader and let them into her life and her emotions but she did an amazing job of it. highly recommend
  • Exceeded Expectations

    5
    By Ferguson020
    I am not a big reader, but I finished this book front to back within a few days — IT WAS SO GOOD. Read it. Just read it. The writing style is captivating, funny, real, impeccable. Jennette connects on such a human level, so real.
  • A Real and Raw memoir

    5
    By TravelRunnerGirl001
    I could not put this book down. The way Jeanette tells her story is as real and raw as it gets. No sugar coating. She tells you exactly how she feels/felt through every moment of her childhood, her acting career, her love interests, her relationship with her mother and her relationship with food. This is a must read for anyone that struggles with narcissistic parents, eating disorders and body dysmorphia. She found a way out of the chaos and her book is an inspiration to follow.
  • Absolutely loved it

    5
    By abaker213
    Read the whole book in less then 24 hours. I absolutely LOVED it !!!!
  • Absolutely stunning

    5
    By doggies!!!!!!!!!!
    This book had so much emotion and didn’t hold back on anything, I am so grateful that I was able to read her story front to back.
  • excellent

    5
    By 🎀Kapie🎀
    so beautifully written. captivating, easy to read, hard to put down.
  • Captivating.

    4
    By Preschooldaze
    Devoured! What a transformation to follow in the book. I felt like I was there and wanted to just give Jeannette a big ol hug. I think many of us know how it feels to look up to our parents/guardians and believe that “everything” they do for us is good for us but not always is that the case. It’s sad to see Jennette fight the strong emotions of denial of the abuse she endured and the strong connection and love she shared with her mom. Powerful book.
  • Nice

    5
    By ~London~
    The book is one of the greatest I read in years. if I was in the same situation as her I probably would’ve been in jail….
  • Captivating

    5
    By Desigoesmeep
    I love this book. I haven’t finished a book this fast in a long time, but the way she describes her childhood and adolescence with such attention to detail and memory I felt like I lived with her.
  • Painfully Relatable

    5
    By Royauhlty
    This book is the first book I've read in years that made me want to start reading again. I couldn't put it down once I've picked it up. Her relationship with her mentally ill controlling verbally abusive and manipulative mother is relatable.