I'm Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy

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. (link)

Review: 5/5

I am still reeling about this book, a week later. This book was AMAZING, I think it’s only the third book I’ve given 5 stars. McCurdy did such an amazing job describing her trauma in such a unique and digestible way that I just couldn’t put it down. I think this can be an obvious warning for people in abusive relationships, having alcoholism, and with eating disorders, as that’s what this book mainly discusses from her life.

I stalked her Instagram after because I was so enamored by her and her story, that I found one of her quotes that I really appreciate. It was something along the lines of “I don’t assume a memoir or biography is the person’s entire life, it can only be a snippet.” Although this may be common sense, I don’t believe I’ve ever genuinely applied it to my thinking when reading. If we read about a murderer and how they did it and why, we think that’s all that person is. If we read a love story, we can tend to forget the personal accomplishments of the character or real-life person. Woah, life lesson alert! What we see isn’t the whole story? What? Shocking!

I’m going to be honest, I normally have a hard time with memoirs as I’m not a huge non-fiction fan. However, McCurdy’s constant tension cycles with her relationship with her mom could be harsh yet relatable and easy to empathize with. I also really liked how short the chapters were (most between 1 and 8 minutes, if I can recall correctly). With the constant trauma dumping, I thought this was a nice way to break it up. I also think emotionally it was easier for me to read this book since it was someone I feel I grew up with and admired. I appreciate McCurdy’s genuine opening up even though she discloses her distaste of fame and the unfortunate way she was forced into it so young.

All that being said, this book was hard to read too. I found it difficult to be able to compartmentalize as someone with a history with disordered eating, and I think I lost touch of my grip on my own reality as I was trying to remember this was a real person, and not some made-up character in a book. Her trauma is real, and it hurts to know it so deeply as she has opened up. However, I think everyone can benefit from reading something like this; I’ve never been physically or sexually abused, yet reading from her viewpoint makes me feel I can be more sympathetic in a strange way. Is that insensitive to say? I hope not.

Although I wanted to include her music on this playlist, I felt it wasn’t right. Her music from when she was young and on Disney would be a shame to display as a showcasing of her growth. I felt more of a connection to some Lucy Daucus, Phoebe Bridgers, Big Thief, and Molly Burch while reading. This book displayed a small fraction of women suffering in the media, and I feel this playlist can (try to) radiate that energy. Listen to Haunted House by Florence and the Machine, and you’ll feel this book in and out.

Spotify: LINK