Maybe it’s because she didn’t want to be a dancer growing up, she wanted to be an actress, and maybe Mom only sits in when I’m being the thing she wanted to be.

It’s rare where I read a book all in one sitting, but for Jennette McCurdy’s celeb memior I’m Glad My Mom Died, it truly felt like the only option. This book is a very candid account on the abuse Jennette faced at the hands of her narcissistic mother and how it inevitably merged with her career as a child actress. In my honest opinion, you do not need to be familiar with iCarly’s runtime or what it was about, this story is much more about the influence parents have on their children, and the dangers of being a public figure at such a young age. Despite its silliness at times, her story is extremely insightful and well written, and seems very likely to represent a much larger population of child actors that grow up in an adult’s industry.

Even though the title feels very brutal and provocative, McCurdy’s connection with her mother is extremely complicated - leading to me feeling that it is justified. Her mother is extremely self-centered and emotionally manipulative. She lives through her daughter and puts the weight of her entire family (financially and emotionally) onto Jennette. When Jennette turns 13, her mother puts her on a calorie restriction - showers her and weighs her every night, leading to anemia and eventually bulimia. Her mother does this knowingly, and some of the other things written in the book were extremely heartbreaking and hard to read. Despite all of this, Jennette’s entire purpose is lost when her mother dies, because the center of her life has faded, and there is no one to please anymore. The book itself is split into two parts, BEFORE and AFTER of her mother’s death.

Jennette does an incredible job reliving her story through her writing, and it is clear that she has a strong passion. There’s something so powerful with the way she writes, all in present tense, as if she was living through it again. Her writing about scenes of rampant abuse at Nickelodeon during the filming of one of the childhood shows I adored so much felt so unreal.

I’m also glad Jennette’s mother died. I am incredibly proud of Jennette for her ability to transcend the labels that society has placed on her. Her captivating character portrayed in this book tells me she will go on to live a much more fulfilling life.

Why do we romanticize the dead? Why can’t we be honest about them?

Overall Rating: 9/10