Jennette McCurdy may be best known for Nickelodeon’s plethora of tween comedies from the late 2000’s and 2010’s including her role as Sam Puckett on iCarly. But McCurdy’s rise to fame was like that of many child stars – not her own dream or her own idea of what her life should look like. In her memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, McCurdy recounts her private struggles away from the spotlight with her mother’s aspirations for fame through her child. Going beyond standard stage-mother actions, McCurdy’s mother forced her own body image challenges and mental health struggles on Jennette in damaging ways that forever shaped the way McCurdy viewed showbusiness, herself, and those around her. This memoir is a cautionary tale for parents looking to bring their children into the spotlight and to anyone near to those already with the light on them.
I give I’m Glad My Mom Died 4 out of 5 stars. I knew going into this memoir that the topics would be controversial. McCurdy has publicly spoken about the damage her mother’s actions had on her life, but I did not fully understand how deep that damage went. I appreciate the honesty McCurdy uses with the mental health struggles she went through and her eating disorder challenges. I also appreciate the way she shows how a codependent parent-child relationship can turn into a codependent dating relationship easily as the child grows, which was my own experience. I do think this book was a tiny bit disjointed and more of a passion project than a concise storyline, but I am happy to see the honest look at therapy and how people can turn away and still go back later for the help that they need.
This book may not be the best read for all audiences. I would call out trigger warnings for multiple topics including eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia), substance abuse, parental loss, mental health disorders, and toxic family situations. To be fully transparent, I had to stop listening a few times to let myself have a break because some of this was too much for me as someone who has a toxic family situation and as someone who struggling with eating disorders in high school. With that said, if you enjoyed Brittany Spears’ The Woman in Me or Matthew Perry’s Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, I think you’ll like this, too.
I chose I’m Glad My Mom Died for the Read With Lindsey Reading Challenge prompt “a memoir”. This was originally released in 2022 and has been on my TBR list ever since. With a photo of McCurdy on the cover with what is touted as an urn of her mother’s ashes, this book was marketed on the premise of the challenging relationship between the two and on McCurdy’s childhood fame. After reading this book, I understand why she chose to step away from acting if it wasn’t her chose to begin with, but it almost feels like she is making excuses for why her career stalled, much like Matthew Perry’s career stalled when his substance abuse grew.
Any time we review a book that features substance abuse or mental health challenges, I like to provide resources so that if anyone reading my review is needing help themselves, they have those resources at their fingertips. In this case, I’d like to share the National Alliance for Eating Disorders Hotline – 866.662.1235 as well as the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline – 988. If you are struggling with an eating disorder, substance abuse, or other mental health crisis, please seek help.
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: The Violet Hour, Victoria Benton Frank
- Current audio book: The Summer House, Lauren Denton
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Marrying the Ketchups, Jennifer Close
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