I'm Glad My Mom Died

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#1NEW YORK TIMESBESTSELLER
#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actorincluding eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing motherand how she retook control of her life.

Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mothers 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 doesnt tint hers She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.

In Im Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detailjust 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, Im Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.

Reviews

A stunning memoir[McCurdy] reveals herself to be a stingingly funny and insightful writer, capable of great empathy and a brutal punchline. Its a document not just of all shes endured, but also of the wisdom she accrued along the way.Sam Lansky, TIME

A coming-of-age story that is alternately harrowing and mordantly funny.Dave Itzkoff, The New York Times

[A] magnum opussharply funny and empathetic.Ashley Spencer,The Washington Post

McCurdy strips away the candy-coated facade of her sitcom experiences.Vanity Fair

Jennette McCurdy is the queen of lemonade from lemons, using her trauma to weave a painfully funnystory that also illuminates the commodification of teenage girls in America. An important cultural document just as much as a searingly personal one.Lena Dunham

Jennettes road to finding herselfremoved from the expectations of her motheris impressively funny. She fuses nuanced relationships, complex grief, religious whiplash and Hollywood trauma into a bold story with a specific comedic voice.Jerrod Carmichael

How cana book be so sad and also so funnyIt's an art, and Jennette McCurdy has mastered it here.Im Glad My Mom Died is hysterical and heartbreaking and fascinating all at the same time.Jenny Lawson, New York Times bestselling author of Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things and Broken (in the Best Possible Way)

I'm Glad My Mom Died is furious, sad, brave, knowing, honest, heart-wrenching, and utterly compelling. McCurdy writes with a keen insight and startling compassion. Whether showing how dysfunctioncan seem normal to those most affected, the torture of eating disorders, or the mindfuck that is child stardom, McCurdy brings readers deep into the milieu so often hidden from outsiders.This is a beautifully crafted coming-of-age story as fearless as its author.Lauren Hough, New York Times bestselling author of Leaving Isnt the Hardest Thing

Jennette McCurdys book is a coruscating picture of her life as a child actor,devastatingly honest and with great understanding of the psychology and emotions operating at a deep level. Its a riveting read, entertaining and very touching.Hayley Mills, New York Times bestselling author of Forever Young

Jennettes career as an actor was simply a character in a much more important story. She is a natural writer with a wonderful sense of humor. Her story is heartbreaking with a nice balance of hopeful. I could not put this book down.Laraine Newman, original cast member of Saturday Night Live and author of May You Live in Interesting Times

[An] explosive debutinsightful and incisive, heartbreaking and raw, McCurdys narrative reveals a strong woman who triumphs over unimaginable pressure to emerge whole on the other side. Fans will be rapt.Publishers Weekly (starred review)

McCurdy asks readers a question: When and how does one rid oneself of the cage created by others and walk freely Her stunning debut offers fierce honesty, empathy for those that contributed to her grief, and insights into the hard-fought attachments and detachments of growing older.Booklist (starred review)

Delivered with captivating candor and grace.Kirkus(starred review)

Author Bio

Jennette McCurdy starred in Nickelodeons hit showiCarlyand its spin-off,Sam & Cat, as well as in the Netflix seriesBetween. In 2017, she quit acting and began pursuing writing/directing. Her films have been featured in the Florida Film Festival, the Salute Your Shorts Film Festival, Short of the Week, and elsewhere. Her essays have appeared in HuffPostand TheWall Street Journal. Her one-woman showIm Glad My Mom Diedhad two sold-out runs at the Lyric Hyperion Theatre and Hudson Theatre in Los Angeles. She hosts a podcast calledEmpty Inside, which has topped Apples charts and features guests speaking about uncomfortable topics. She lives in Los Angeles.