I'm Glad My Mom Died
Author: Jennette McCurdy.
Format: Audiobook.
Read by: Jennette McCurdy. Date: 2022.
ISBN: 9781797147949.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster.
Genre: Non-fiction.
Reading Level: Grades 9-12.
Trailer: On the screen, Jennette was a fun-loving snackaholic. Behind the scenes, she was dying to be thin. Literally. Don't believe everything you see on TV. Read the book instead.
Being an actor is harder than it looks. One moment you might need to be smiling and primped to perfection, and the next you might need to cry for hours on end. For Jennette McCurdy from iCarly and Sam & Cat, this rapid transition between happy and affected was a familiar one. Off the screen, she was living through experiences more harrowing than anything you'd see in one of her Nickelodeon shows. In her autobiographical book, I'm Glad My Mom Died, McCurdy shares the life experiences that made her who she is today. From childhood acting, to living in a hoarder house with her family, to joining and leaving Mormonism, to navigating a long battle with disordered eating--nothing is off the table. As one can discern from the sassy title, Jennette spends a significant amount of time analyzing her relationship with her mother. At the beginning of her life Jennette became the main breadwinner of her family. Her career as an actor functioned both to support her family and to satiate a desire her mother had for the same career. At an early age, Jennette was encouraged by her mother to eat at a calorie deficit to "prevent puberty" and keep her dependent on her relationship with her mother. During this time Jennette's mother was showering her with her older brothers and performing sexually abusive "inspections" on her body. Navigating a difficult industry and mounting mental and physical health problems, Jennette's life was far from the perfection portrayed on the television screen. Now, after the passing of her mother, Jennette is accepting that her relationship with her mother was abusive and is unpacking her experiences in that abusive relationship.
Who better to hear the story from than the woman herself! Check out this interview with Jennette about her book.
Hey! Are any of these topics (eating disorders, abusive relationships, sexual abuse) resonate with you? Hard same, dude. No shame here. In my own journey and in Jennette's experience some of the most productive ways of dealing with these issues involve reaching out for help. When things feel real big and scary I like to call a hotline and talk it out before taking next steps. Here are some hotline numbers, save 'em in your phone, pass them to a friend, write them on your insta, do whatever you think is best.
Eating Disorder Hotlines: (866) 375-1904 (847)831-3438
Domestic Violence Hotline: (800)799-SAFE (7233)
Sexual Abuse Hotline: (800)656-HOPE (4673)
Teen Health Questions: (888)711-TEEN (8336)
Created by: Jenette McCurdy is recognizable to the gen-z crowd because of her commendable work on Nickelodeon kid's shows like iCarly and Sam & Cat (A show she starred on with pop sensation and habitual blackfisher, Ariana Grande #sorrynotsorry ). Born in Garden Grove, California, McCurdy has been on the screen from a very young age (Wikipedia, n.d). Though she is most recognizable for her work as an actor, McCurdy also has a pretty sizable collection of country music songs from the early 2000s. In the mid 2010s Jennette expanded her career into writing with many collaborations with the New York Times and other publications (Wikipedia, n.d). Recently, she shared her debut autobiographical novel and one woman show, I'm Glad My Mom Died.
Analysis: Can we talk about how the people we love have hurt us while they are still around? This isn't a rhetorical question I am about to oh-so-intelligently answer for you. This is a genuine question. I'm Glad My Mom Died is a big title, right? It's a bold, eye-catching, heart-stopping kind of statement. Before you pick up this book you might think it will be a scathing roast of an old woman who you never had the misfortune of meeting. You might even think that this book must have a meanspirited streak with a title like that. Unfortunately, and for the first time ever if you're asking me, you would be wrong. The deeper I got into this book the more I realized that this wasn't Jennette taking her chance to tell us horror stories about her childhood as a child actor. The deeper I got into this book I realized that this is her chance to unpack all of the things she experienced, an opportunity she didn't have while her mother was still alive and actively abusing her. This book is not an angry hate letter to her mother, it is a love letter to herself. As an autobiographical piece this book hits all the marks you want out of that type of materials. It has humor, it has spunk, it has the inside scoop, it has dirty little secrets. More than anything, though, this book has authenticity. I chose to listen to this as an audiobook opposed to physically reading it and there were multiple times I had to pause to collect myself because Jennette's authenticity when describing her experience is breathtaking. During her reading there are moments when Jennette herself is overcome with emotion, sounding like she is choking up in the recording studio. This book is not a polished account of a perfectly imperfect life. This is a brutal, raw, exposition into a journey that is far from over.
This book is broken down into a number of chapters (over 50, I believe) that jump around in Jennette's life. In one chapter you are learning about Jennette as a little girl, in the next you are learning about where she is now, then you might jump around again before returning to the present. This format could be confusing but the timeline is not what is important in the story. What is important is Jennette's emotional journey. A journey that, as I previously mentioned, is not yet over. This is an important story for young people. Through this story you can empower yourself to really examine your relationship dynamics and how you treat yourself. I would identify the main message to be one of self love. An encouraging message to fight for yourself and not to stop for anything or anyone. Even if the person standing in the way of your self love is your own mom.
Well, that got a little heavy, didn't it? Dang, Jennette! We're not even reading the book and we're still getting emotional over here. Here are some of the highlights of Jennette's character on iCarly and Sam & Cat:
In the Library: This book presents a great opportunity to talk about abuse. Abuse that occurs via relationships with other people and abuse that we enact on ourselves through harmful behaviors like substance abuse and eating disorders. I would love to have a mental health professional come in and give a talk about abuse that is recorded and made available online.
Potential Issues: This book has a controversial title, it's true. If anyone had an issue with this books title or content they would be directed to the collection development policy.
Reason for Inclusion: This has to be one of the most talked about books of the decade. Seriously. I don't know a young person who hasn't at least heard about this book, or heard of Miss Jennette. I think that her popularity as a child actor makes this a book teens would pick up based on interest. Then, once they have the book, they would benefit from the wonderful messages and reflection contained in it's pages.
Sources:
ABCNews. (2022, August 9). Jennette McCurdy shares the stories behind memoir "I'm glad my mom died". YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkqXK7nsvW0
Goodreads. (n.d) I'm glad my mom died. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/59364173
Jennette McCurdy. (n.d). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennette_McCurdy.
NickRewind. (2021, May 2). 97 best Sam Moments from every episode of Icarly 🧈🧦 | nickrewind. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxFDDYTz8MQ
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