TW: Abuse, eating disorders/disordered eating

Growing up, I spent a lot of time watching Disney and Nickelodeon shows. Those years also happened to coincide with the absolute shit show that was the early 2000s. These were the years where we watched kid actors “go off the rails” and when blatant attacks from every which way on girls and women’s bodies were the norm. Reading Jennette McCurdy’s “I’m Glad My Mom Died” brought those memories flooding back, but with a twist.

Who is Jennette McCurdy?

Best known for her role on iCarly, Jennette is a former actress who became a well-known face in the Nickelodeon world. While I never watched her show, I do vividly remember seeing her face on TV, in magazines and in advertisements. After iCarly, she costarred on a spinoff show with Ariana Grande called Sam and Cat (another show I didn’t watch). But after that show, she didn’t have another big hit and decided to take a break (aka quit) acting.

How was the book?

“I’m Glad My Mom Died” is the second memoir I’ve read this summer. Because I didn’t watch the show or really know much about her as a person, I wasn’t sure if this was going to be interesting to me at all. But literally everyone and their mother had read the book and was screaming their praises from the rooftop. So, I decided to give it a go.

I went from expecting nothing, to being absolutely enthralled with the book. Jennette has a way of writing that feels like you’re talking to a friends. It feels honest, it feels real, it feels fucking painful. She goes into detail about living with an abusive parent and an absent parent, as well as working in a toxic industry.

Something I really enjoyed about the stories she shared, was that the writing reflected her feelings at the time. It wasn’t a retelling of the story from today’s perspective, it was real and honest. You can also feel at times that she’s poking fun or pointing out the nonsense in a way that doesn’t feel forced.

This is a memoir, so we know it’s going to get personal, but her candor feels like it’s on a whole other level. She talks about some very difficult experiences like mental and physical abuse and eating disorders. These are topics that make people feel uncomfortable, but she talks about them in a way that shows that things aren’t always black and white because life is complicated.

Overall, I would say that this book is definitely worth the hype. It’s well written and relatively quick to read. Though I will say that I can see this book being very triggering for some people, so please keep that in mind if you do decide to read it.