#netgalleyarc I went into this book knowing a little about the Jeannette’s acting career and her relationship with her mother but after reading this book all I can say is damn. You hear a lot of stories about kids who are forced into acting by their parents and the horror stories that go along and this is right up there. The manipulation by her mother, to both the author and her brothers, is insane. This is definitely an interesting and captivating read.

I'm Glad My Mom Died is an eye-opening memoir from Jeanette McCurdy about her time growing up with her abusive mom and being forced into show business. McCurdy strikes a delicate balance between revealing the abuse she endured and the very real repercussions of that abuse such as her eating disorders, without being overly depressing or turning it into torture porn. I really enjoyed the style and tone in which she wrote the memoir.

I am finding it difficult to review the book because the content is so sensitive. I found the book well-written and am very glad I read it.

I was not expecting this book to be as brutal as it was. I knew the broad strokes of the fact that Jennette McCurdy had a rough time as a child and even more when she started acting but I had no idea it was like this.
This is probably the most honest book I've read by a celebrity. Most of the time the worst bits are glossed over or just skipped but McCurdy faced all of that head on and she shares that with the reader. This is also the most well written celebrity memoir i have ever read. McCurdy as a great talent for baring the truth and making you face it head on. She brought some of deepest emotions i have felt while reading in a long time. I can honestly say this is a book I would recommend to just about everyone (please look at the trigger warnings though and make sure you read safely) even if you didn't like McCurdy's acting i would still suggest this. This is one of those memoirs that sheds light on so much and people need to read it so they can see and maybe understand.

I didn't know anything about Jennette McCurdy other than what I had read in gossip columns. I am several years older than her and out of the target age group for the shows that made her famous. Still, I was excited to receive an advanced copy of her book "I'm Glad My Mom Died" as I knew enough about her life, that I wanted to find out more.

I wonder about child actors. What makes them want to do it? In Jennette's case, it was 100% her mother. Her mother pushed her into everything, at every audition, at every rehearsal, at every commercial, television and film shoot. Jennette slowly and steadily made a name for herself in LA, but not without cost.

As with everything else, her mother micromanaged her weight and her food, pushing Jennette into a cycle of eating disorders that lingered even after her mother's death. The abuse that the entire family suffered due to Jennette's mother's hoarding, everyone sleeping on mats in the living room, is horrifying.

Jennette's voice is so strong throughout this entire book. She's open, honest and very candid about the abuse and her conflicted feelings. She understands that her relationship with her mother was toxic and that it was harmful and detrimental to her growth into adulthood.

This isn't a "Hollywood" memoir. There isn't a bow at the end, with Jennette holding an Oscar. This is a book about a young woman, and her life and her relationship with her mother. And I think it's fantastic.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and Jennette McCurdy for the opportunity to read and review this book in advance of its release.

It was definitely the title of this memoir that got my attention, but the content was equally as intriguing. It is hard to call a memoir intriguing, as it encompasses emotional abuse, manipulation, and eating disorders.

Jeanette also gives us a unique look into the process of becoming a child star from someone who did not particularly want to be in the limelight.

Overall interesting read, with some very strong content warnings.

Heartbreaking and unfair reality of a six year old girl who was pushed to become an actor. A mother who tries to live out her dreams through her daughter and leads her to alcoholism and eating disorders. Jennette McCurdy does not hold back on the impact her childhood has on her and what she had to do to be where she is now. It's an emotional read but there are moments of humor, recovery, and honest friendships throughout.

I feel weird giving this book a rating, given some of the subject matter. It is an absolutely breathtaking book. Jennette McCurdy is a fantastic writer. She has such a concise style which is uniquely impactful. Her story is heartbreaking. It is written in such an interesting way, which allows the reader to view these events through the lens of experience. This book is amazing.

This book was devastating. but uplifting. I was aware that McCurdy had a tough upbringing, but reading the details straight from her made her childhood that much more horrific. Some people may read this and think she did not have it that bad, but you cannot underestimate the damage caused by psychological and emotional abuse. The victim may not wear visible scars, but internal scars run deep and the manipulation of Jennette by her mother was atrocious.

The writing in this book is full of emotion. Jennette's straight-to-the-point storytelling paints a clear picture of the mental and emotional chaos that has ruled a majority of her life, manifesting itself into unhealthy and potentially deadly habits. Yet, she manages to make such a tough topic more palatable by throwing in humor. After each trauma-filled story she shares a little quip that makes the reader chuckle. I always wondered how much of the character of Sam Puckett was Jennette's actual personality, and I can see some shared characteristics. While I love Jennette, I was never a fan of Sam. Our family loved watching iCarly, but the irony behind the history of the character she played and Jennette's actual history is most likely why she was so great at playing the part. She could pull on her own experiences to put herself into Sam's shoes. Overall, this book was amazing. It drew me in and still has not let me go days later. I admire Jennette's growth and ability to see things more clearly as she has gotten older. She leaves the story, not at perfection, but as a work-in-progress, which is the story of us all.

Jennette McCurdy was a household name as a child actress, but it was because her mother wanted it, not here. In the aftermath of her mother’s death, she faces a slide into eating disorders before she understands the complex relationship between her and her mother that led her there.

I think everyone has an occasionally fractious relationship with their mother, but perhaps not the extant that McCurdy does. From an early age, McCurdy’s mother micromanaged her life, pushed her into acting, and encouraged her in her spiral into eating disorders. Yet at the same time, she was an actress on a beloved children’s TV show, one I myself watched – and not one hint of it showed. I was really intrigued by this book because I was excited to see how McCurdy herself would portray her experience.

McCurdy has a strong voice through this book, bleakly humorous and candid about her conflicting feelings about people in her life. Despite her being an actress, this really isn’t a Hollywood memoir but more of a recounting of a toxic mother-daughter relationship, which was what I was more interested in anyway. She presents the facts of her life with minimal judgment, placing the reader in each moment so that they can draw their own conclusions, and I think this really worked for the book.

I did think the second half of the book was a little weaker though, as we skate past some of the major incidents in McCurdy’s life, as well as the realizations she has – but I understand this may also be due to how recent those latter events were.

Overall, this was a sharp and incisive read that I really enjoyed, and one that I think even people who have never heard of iCarly will appreciate.

I don’t deny that Jennette McCurdy has been through a lot, but this memoir doesn’t feel like writing that does her life much justice. The storytelling is very myopic and lacks any deep sense of reflection. This becomes frustrating when it starts to feel like McCurdy doesn’t take any ownership in her story—not that she needs to be blamed (she doesn’t), but at a certain point everything is written like the world is happening to her and she’s not an active participant in it. I wish there had been better editing help to make for a better reading experience.

My god, this book hit me with a truck.
It is so raw and vulnerable. At times I felt physically ill from her discussion of her addictive habits. This book reminds me of documentaries of what child actors have suffered through. But now, it has been put into a book. I feel so grateful that Jennette McCurdy shared her life story with us. I shed tears so quickly into this read. On the second day of reading, I couldn’t put the book down. I needed to know what was going to happen next. Jennette is incredibly strong and resilient. I’m so glad she got back into writing and shared her work with us. This book hurts so much. You feel everything she felt. It’s crazy to be let in on what a public figure went through behind the scenes. It’s not fun or glamorous. It’s real life.

If you know Jennette McCurdy from iCarly and Sam & Cat, you may be surprised like me to learn that behind the scenes the former child star dealt with addiction, disordered eating, and an abusive mother. In her forthcoming memoir, McCurdy details how her mother first pushed her to be an actress, and then introduced her to "calorie restriction" so that she could stay small for as long as possible and therefore win more roles. It wasn't until her mother died of breast cancer that Jennette was able to make decisions about her own life. She quits acting, starts therapy, and begins the extraordinarily difficult process of recovery from bulimia. McCurdy's story is moving, inspiring, unsettling, and darkly humorous. She doesn’t hold back from depicting her difficulties so exercise care if this might be triggering for you. I went in knowing what to expect, and I'm glad I read it, but there is still one scene (with sexual content) I'd love to scrub from my mind.

Wow so much to say about this one. As someone who has been in recovery from an ED- I really understood and felt everything she said. I won't lie, it will trigger those who are active in an Eating Disorder so proceed with caution. But being on the other side, I felt like someone else was finally saying everything I felt! Another interesting this she talks about his how Hollywood was almost an addiction for her too. And I think we see that with so many actors/singers/influencers.

She brushes over a few topics that I wish she would have gotten deeper on: but so good

I knew very little about Jennette McCurdy before reading this book, but I am drawn towards family dramatic celebrity memoirs, and this summary fascinated me. Overall, the book is riveting and powerful and also hard to read.

Jennette McCurdy describes in great detail snippets from her life. The youngest of four children, Jennette grew up in a hoarder house by a mother obsessed with becoming famous and with beauty. She was forced into child acting by her mother and was never comfortable in front of the camera as she never wanted it. Her mother's health is constantly in the forefront and her mother finally dies from cancer when Jennette is in her early 20s. However, it is only after Jennette's mother's death that Jennette comes to realize the level of abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother which culminated in Jennette's eating disorders and alcohol abuse.

This book is absolutely worth the read. I found the writing to be well done and the tonal shift was very interesting as Jennette aged and became aware of her abuse. However, I did feel the ending was lacking.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

i don't read a lot of nonfiction, but i was intrigued by the title and i've watched the author grow up on screen when i was younger. i was shocked to read her experience being under the spotlight at such a young age and had no idea that child actors were (are?) treated this way.

I am a good mother Not perfect, because nobody is, but good. I work hard at being a good mother, but have to admit to a certain fascination with reading about bad mothers, which this book features one of the vary worst. In this case I also get to read about another thing I find fascinating - child stars. There’s a crossover in the two subjects, as in general, stage mothers seem to tend to be bad mothers, at least in the (many) books about them I have read. Highly recommended for people who share my fascination with these two topics.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

When I first heard the title of Jennette McCurdy’s memoir, I knew I had to read it. “I’m Glad My Mom Died” is such an in-your-face title, but within the pages, she shows the title to be very well deserved. While I was never an iCarly fan, I still knew of McCurdy from being an avid watcher of Nickelodeon and follower of pop culture. Her rise to fame was not easy, but forced upon her by her mother, who wanted Jennette’s life to be one filled with not wanting for anything and to be famous.
The memoir is a raw, sometimes difficult to read look into the psychological, verbal, and physical abuse Jennette was put through as a child actor and young adult. Emotional manipulation was rampant in her life, solely from her mom, but also other people in her life. The abuse and manipulation also came from studio producers and executives who, instead of looking out for the children they were putting in front of the camera, allowed many scathing episodes of gross behavior to happen.
While a large portion of this book deals with the struggles of body dysmorphia, anxiety, depression, as well as a myriad of other issues, there are some moments of light; Jennette talks about her friendship with co-star Miranda Cosgrove and how Miranda was aware of some of the problems going on in McCurdy’s life and became a haven of sorts.
I cannot recommend this book enough, especially if you grew up watching Nickelodeon in the mid-2000s. Jennette was robbed of a childhood and forced into the spotlight but has gracefully bowed out since; she now hosts a podcast and has done some directing, writing, and producing.
Thank you Simon & Schuster for this ARC and to NetGalley for providing the eBook.

I’m not usually one for memoirs, but Jennette McCurdy’s might have changed my mind. The title of McCurdy’s debut already draws any perspective readers in, but now having read it, I can definitively say that the title is only a fraction of what makes her book exceptional. As someone who considers myself a fan of Jennette McCurdy and have since I was a young kid, reading her story made me not only like her even more, but admire her greatly.

McCurdy alternates between telling stories from her childhood through to her growing up, but all are told in present tense. This gives the reader a great sense of all of her thoughts and feelings as well as being able to digest each detail from an outside point of view. Her story can be gives even better insight to her career and how it shaped not only her childhood and adolescence, when most of her fans saw her most frequently, but also her adult life when she decided to remove herself from the acting world. McCurdy’s expert humor woven into her heartfelt and gutting history of her relationship with her mother and with herself during all stages of her life makes this reading quick and feel like getting to know a friend.

Going into “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” I had expectations that proved to be extremely unrealistic. The story reads more like a novel, and is much less of a celebrity “tell-all” as many memoirs tend to be. There is little discussion of her relationship with Nickelodeon and her shows she starred in. McCurdy’s writing is courageous and gutting and she focuses on what no one was able to see when watching her on television, and what many were unable to see in her real life. I laughed almost as much as I cried reading this and I would recommend “I’m Glad My Mom Died” to everyone.

Some trigger warnings to be mindful of are abuse, eating disorders, and grief.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster and most importantly Jennette McCurdy for allowing me to access an advanced copy!

I had the honor of being chosen to receive an early digital copy of the book from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Fair warning, the book is a blaring trigger warning:
- Abuse
- Manipulation
- Narcissism
- Eating disorders
- Substance Abuse
- Sexual assault

Now, I haven’t done one these in a while (if you followed me during the early days of Twitter, you might remember I ran a reviews blog, which went the way of the Dodo, may it rest in hell), so bear with me.
The book is extremely raw and vulnerable, but it is sprinkled with Jennette’s ever-present dry sense of humor, which soften the blow of some of the harshest things she had to go through growing up in a chaotic household with a narcissistic mother (and grandmother – that was surprising to me, as well).

I cannot go into much detail, both because you need to read this, and because there is an embargo on how much I’m able to share (:

Jennette isn’t afraid to tackle every raw detail of her life, from getting pushed into the acting industry against her will, to being introduced to eating disorders by her own mother, to taking the blame over her show with Ariana Grande being canceled when the real reason was a lot more fucked up than a salary difference (I hope The Creator rots in hell).

This was an extremely compelling, smooth read and I could not put the book down. It’s been years since I’ve read a book that had me hooked to this degree.
If you were a fan of Jennette during those years, and remember the Twitter chatter back in those days, the book brings an entire new light onto what she had been struggling with behind closed doors. It’ll help you understand why she did some of the things she did, and she takes full ownership for them.

If you weren’t familiar with McCurdy during her iCarly years, this is still a solid read, that will have you just as emotional as the long-time fans. She brings a perspective to mental health struggles not many people are as brave to talk about.

If you struggle with eating disorders, this might not be the book for you, unless you are actively working on it and have help, in which case, proceed with caution.

Jennette did a two year-run of a one-woman show version of the book I truly hope she brings back once the book is out. Better yet, I hope her story turns into a movie. “I’m Glad My Mom Died” is a 10/10 must-read! It comes out on August 9, and you can pre-order at the following link: https://www.simonandschuster.com/p/im-glad-my-mom-died-pre-order

Title: I’m Glad My Mom Died
Author: Jennette McCurdy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Read if you like:
Memoirs
Overcoming trauma
Struggles with parents


My Thoughts:
Wow…I grew up watching iCarly and thinking a lot of things about Sam Puckett knowing absolutely nothing about Jennette. I saw there was a spin off show called Sam and Cat and heard the drama with Jennette and Ariana Grande and that was all that I knew. This book was so eye opening and honestly so sad. It was heartbreaking to hear about Jennette McCurdy’s relationship with her mother, food, the Creator, and so many other things. Looking at her you would never have known how painted on her smile was and how much she put up with to not even be remotely happy. Her story is something that I’m sure a lot of actors had to deal with and it left me speechless. I’m glad that she is seemingly in recovery now, but her story is something that will stay with me for a while.