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 …
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.
Paperback, 319 pages
English language
Published Aug. 8, 2022 by Simon & Schuster Audio and Blackstone Publishing.
An excellently written memoir that balances the horror of abusive family dynamics, the deep entrenchment of the love and attachment and responsibility you feel towards your abusive family, and the darkness of childhood Hollywood stardom all through the lens of Jenette's dry and chewy humor.
Загалом не дуже цікавлять біографії та автобіографії відомих людей, але тут вирішив зробити виняток - і не дарма. З прямолінійністю та щирістю, характерною для її персонажки з iCarly, Дженнетт розповідає абсолютно жахливі речі з її життя, і такий контраст тону та змісту водночас змушує співчувати та лякає. Не налазить на голову, як мати може таке робити зі своєю дитиною, навіть в ім'я амбіцій та слави. Найбільше жахає реальність того, що сама людина не бачить жахливості ситуації. Не дивлячись на назву книги, значна її частина присвячена періоду скорботи Дженнетт за матір'ю, довгому шляху до усвідомлення та прийняття описаних подій, і, нарешті, поступовому зціленню. Авторка не оминає важких тем, від розладів харчової поведінки до сексуального насильства, але при цьому це не відчувається як маніпуляція читачем чи полювання за емоційною реакцією. Також, не дивлячись на тему, книга сповнена незвичним гумором, що підкреслює унікальний голос авторки. Якщо коротко, я теж радий, що мати Дженнетт померла👍
