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 …
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 was so great but also absolutely horrifying. Well written and paced with a gutpunching twist after every chapter. It made me sad, it made me yell out in anguish. The translation (to Swedish, by Julia Gillberg) was good too; a few mistakes but a strong command of contemporary, casual, natural Swedish that reads like talking to a friend. I loved this book.
I never saw any of her shows so this book was my first introduction to this writer. I'm kind of out of touch with pop culture sometimes.
"I get to the towel closet and grab the little red dish towel with Christmas lights on it, wet the end of it under the kitchen faucet, and press the wet end into the milk-soaked carpet"
"I head to the kitchen to re-wet it for round two when Mom crosses through and heads for the living room. Anxiety fills my body. I'm just about to warn Mom, but by the time she's out of the kitchen, I know it's too late. "What is this?" Mom asks in a tone that makes me know she knows exactly what it is she just stepped in.
I tell Mom I already started to clean it up, so the wetness is mostly just water, but it doesn't matter. Her mood has already switched.".
"I wonder if there's something different I could have done to get us out the door faster. I wonder if there's …
"I get to the towel closet and grab the little red dish towel with Christmas lights on it, wet the end of it under the kitchen faucet, and press the wet end into the milk-soaked carpet"
"I head to the kitchen to re-wet it for round two when Mom crosses through and heads for the living room. Anxiety fills my body. I'm just about to warn Mom, but by the time she's out of the kitchen, I know it's too late. "What is this?" Mom asks in a tone that makes me know she knows exactly what it is she just stepped in.
I tell Mom I already started to clean it up, so the wetness is mostly just water, but it doesn't matter. Her mood has already switched.".
"I wonder if there's something different I could have done to get us out the door faster. I wonder if there's something I can do in the future".
I'm not ready to say anything else about this book, but I can't stop thinking about the milk on the carpet, and I can't stop thinking about how it was me holding the Christmas themed dish towel.
