I’m Glad My Mom Died – A Must Read

Disclaimer: This book contains upsetting content such as eating disorders, parental abuse, and graphic sexual content. This review may contain minor spoilers for this book.

I found out about Jeannette McCurdy’s new book, I’m Glad My Mom Died when it was released. Many fellow book lovers tweeted about it and praised it. Booktubers started reviewing it and loved it. When I heard of the book, I wanted to read it. I grew up watching those Nickoleodon shows, so I was intrigued by her book. I’m not a lover of biographical fiction, but once I heard the audiobook was read by Jeannette herself, I immediately downloaded it.

This book pleasantly surprised me. With grim scenes such as talks of Jeannette’s mother’s cancer or troubles at home, Jeannette has great humor and wit that hits you with each line. Dry humor that ties in at the end of a sentence which leaves you laughing. The premise of I’m Glad My Mom Died is the life of Jeannette McCurdy, a Nickelodeon child star who was forced into this life due to financial difficulties at home and at her mother’s behest. Jeannette McCurdy’s mother is set up as the victim and villain all at the same time, as her mother suffered from cancer twice in her life, but also used her cancer to get away with all of her horrible behavior. Jeannette tells the story of how her mother forced her into acting, as it was always her mother’s dream to act. Her mother lives vicariously through Jeannette, and for many years, her mother used guilt and sometimes aggression, to keep Jeannette from living her own life. It broke my heart when a young Jeannette showed her mother the first draft of a play she wrote, and she said manipulatively, I hope you don’t give up acting to become a writer. That’ll break your mother’s heart. Her mother squashed her dream of becoming a writer and went to extraordinary lengths to make her an actress.

When the title of this book came out, people were shocked. A gripping and harsh title, but in my opinion, the book deserved this title. This title represents Jeannette’s relationship with her mother. The need to escape her mother emotionally or physically through death, but she always had that realization kept her stuck. Even though all the trauma she put her through, she was her mother and she still loved her. For me, this book showcases a real abusive parental relationship. A very complicated relationship where you know it’s bad for you and sees no escape because they are your family. Through her words, Jeannette expresses that feeling of being stuck but pulls some humor into it effortlessly.

In the book, Jeannette references “The Creator” from her days on Nickelodeon set, the unfair treatment she experienced there, and her friendship with Miranda Cosgrave. As a fan of those shows when I was a child, it shocked me to hear the inside story of the abuse these kids faced through it all. This story broke my heart but also healed it. Through all the hardships Jeannette went through, it ended on a hopeful and final note with Jeannette visiting her mother’s gravestone. It all began with her mother. Her acting career, her trauma, her eating disorders, her issues. Her mother caused them and perpetuated them. In order to move on and close that final chapter of her story, Jeannette had to accept the damage her mother caused. I loved Jeannette’s voice throughout the book. I listened to it on audiobook and the way she tells her story was exceptional. Even in the heartbreaking moments, Jeannette pulls through with finesse and some humor or even through holding back tears. I swear towards the end of the audiobook when Jeannette talks about accepting that her mother wasn’t the amazing person she made her out to be all this time, you can hear, in real-time, Jeannette holding back tears on the recording.

Jeannette’s honesty in this book showcases a real depiction of someone in pain. For most of the story, she never searches for help. She didn’t want help from a therapist or anyone else. She knew she had unhealthy habits but it was only when she started dating a guy and he didn’t want to date her unless she sought help, that she sought help. But those attempts in therapy didn’t do her any good, as it was only when she wanted to help herself, that she started believing in the process of self-healing. Jeannette gripped me to the end with her recovery and her struggles.

I’m Glad My Mom Died is a fantastic reading experience. I highly recommend you purchase a physical copy of this book. I intend to. The fact that she returned to her passion for writing later in life and after all the trauma she faced, makes it her first published work. I support it. This memoir isn’t like any other child star memoir. She reveals the cruel reality of her life and never sugarcoats it. Even with her choice in the title, Jeannette’s memoir plays a different game than all the other memoirs from child stars we have seen in the past. I implore you to listen to the audiobook and have Jeannette narrate the story herself.

Overall, I rate Jeannette McCurdy’s book, I’m Glad My Mom Died a 5 out of 5 star read!