Audiobook Review: I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Title: I’m Glad My Mom Died
Author: Jennette McCurdy
Genre: Memoir / Mental Health
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“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.” (Goodreads)

I’ve been wanting to read this one ever since hearing about it! I remember watching her shows and liking her character. This was a way to get to know her better and understand who she was as a person and not a character on a tv show. It also adds to the talk already in place about kid actors and what they deal with on a daily basis. It isn’t always rainbows and sunshine. She paints a dark picture of the reality of it all and its just shocking.

The book follows her from the beginning of her career to about where she is now (I think). I didn’t like how the chapters were formatted and sometimes it was confusing, but I still liked her story nonetheless.

There are things that Jennette had to deal with that I would never be able to understand, but I do understand the struggle of eating disorders. It’s something I don’t like to talk about but I totally get her when it came to that and I really felt every word she said about it. She had her mother pushing her into the disorder and telling her that her looks weren’t good enough. I have had family members make comments, even after having a baby, and it sucks. It’s not a habit that is easily broken either. I hope she is doing well in her recovery.

A lot of the book talks about her career in Hollywood and what stardom was like for her. It took up a lot of time in the beginning and so it seems like she never really had a childhood. Her mother used her more than anything, especially for fame and money, and gaslighted her all the way. I can’t imagine the trauma it brought. A lot of this boiled over into puberty and relationships. No one taught her the bare minimum about anything. It was really sad to listen to.

I had already read somethings about the director she calls “The Creator”. He sounds like a sick guy and who knows what he has said or done to others. More and more celebrities are speaking up about the behind-the-scene stuff that goes on and hopefully something will be done about the creeps. Child actors are very much taken advantage of.

Overall, this was great listen and I’m glad that she narrated it herself. It was very personal and it definitely spoke to me at times. I’m happy that she is finally able to tell her story and hopefully it’s another way to heal from what has happened to her over the years. We are rooting for you, Jennette!

Advertisement