I'm Glad My Mom Died

By: Jennette McCurdy

Narrated by: Jennette McCurdy

* #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * MORE THAN 3 MILLION COPIES SOLD!

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.

Amazing job

So proud of you , I listen to this since it came out this morning at 12 am . Good job

My mom isn’t dead

But I often wonder what it would be like/feel like when she does die. This book was so good for me to listen to because a dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship is not talked about often. I appreciate Jeanette’s candor and the way she told her story.

Honest, Pure, Brave, and Sadly familiar

To the author: So sorry you went through/will be going through so many challenges in life. I have always thought of you as a very talented actress and have enjoyed most roles you have taken on. I then read you were ceasing your acting career and was sad to hear a little bit of the reasons why. Was very eager to read/hear you read your book as it is a subject I'm all too familiar with. Obviously in different ways with different varying degrees of behaviors, but nonetheless familiar.

To the reader/listener: This is such a sad thing for children then adults to have to live with much less in the public eye. I think she did an amazing job telling her story involving you in each step from the perspective of the age that she was in in the timeline. her language changed right along with her age to make it feel even more like you were seeing it from her eyes. she is a very gifted writer and performer and when you see reviews talk about her reading in a monotone rushed fashion that's just her brilliant way of performing and reading something that's probably very emotionally difficult for her to read. I think the tone and the pace is very fitting for what had to have been going on in her brain during the time. she touches on things that so many people in the world have to deal with from their parents most specifically the relationship with a mother and I think she's incredibly Brave for telling it the way she does. I'll never give away what would be called a spoiler but just know you're going to hear things that are devastating to the development of a child that unfortunately carry on into adulthood and she does a wonderful job of braving through them and continues to do so.

I'm Glad Jennette Told Her Story

It's a story that I couldn't hear from anyone else believably - Jennette McCurdy had to be the one to speak on her experiences, to outline her struggles, and to illuminate just how much it affected her life.

That being said, the delivery is a bit stiff and may not have thrilling drama or excitement mirrored in the narration, but I think that lends to its authenticity even more.

It's not something that should be given endless amounts of pomp and circumstance to make things more dramatic or to really be a page turner - it's a raw, harrowing tale of a girl who was abused for multiple years of her life by her own mother, in her own words and in her own voice.

In a way, I'm glad to hear her tell the story.

Wow!

I could identify with a very dysfunctional mother. She was brave to share her story.