I know I normally cover fiction, but I had to review this book. I’m Glad My Mom Died is an autobiography by Jennette McCurdy, an actress best known for her portrayal of Sam Puckett on Nickelodeon’s sitcom iCarly. She’s also been a singer and writer. McCurdy details throughout the book her experiences trying to get into the industry, difficulties she faced while performing, and her overall distaste with acting due to the overbearing influence of her mother. Like the title says, Jennette’s mother died of cancer and its after this that Jennette tries to deal with the life she’s found herself in.
This book is fantastic. McCurdy’s writing is clear and purposeful, mentioning details that stuck with her decades later. There’s awful details about how her mother flipped out on her when she lied about a boy to her and her struggles with being a “good Mormon”. The email (or letter?) her mother sends her in that is downright horrific.
Jennette suffered through bulimia and anorexia, eating disorders caused by her mother’s over-restrictive meddling in her daughter’s consumption. A normal parent would simply not buy chips or soda to try to encourage their kids to eat better, but Jennette’s mother taught her about calorie restriction in order to delay her puberty and keep her looking young. At one point, Jennette’s friend Miranda gave her some candy and her mother basically growled at her not to take it.
During her time at Nickelodeon, she mentioned a person she calls “The Creator”. It isn’t clear in the text who this is, but it’s probably the iCarly showrunner Dan Schneider. The Creator is abusive, encourages underaged actors to drink, and touches his actresses inappropriately. At one point, Jennette had been given her own spinoff show and there were problems at Nickelodeon. She described how behind the scenes The Creator wasn’t allowed to be on set and give feedback due to complaints about abuse. He had several allegations against him so the network took minor attempts at addressing concerns. Eventually, when her spinoff ended, the media ran a story about her being jealous of Ariana Grande (yes, the now well-known singer) who was her costar on the spinoff. Reporters tried to say that Jennette was being paid less than Ariana and that set off a rivalry. That wasn’t true, and even at the time these reports got pushback. In reality, the show ended because the allegations against The Creator were getting out of control.
She also mentioned how her time at Nickelodeon was fine as a child but looking back it wasn’t even something she was proud of in her teens. She went from a respected child actor known as “the girl who could cry on queue” to a comedic teenager known as “the girl with the butter sock”. It’s a fascinating story, and she’s done some work in recent memory with both a stage show and short film about her experiences. This book itself was her life’s work up to this point, pouring all of her experiences in the entertainment industry into its pages.
One of the standout characters is Miranda Cosgrove, who is an actress who performs the titular character in the iCarly sitcom. Miranda is shown to be thoughtful and caring, giving Jennette the support she needed at times while also providing a friendly face for her during difficult times. She kept in touch with Jennette even after iCarly ended, but as with all adult friendships, they grew a little distant over time.
I would recommend this book for anyone who either grew up with the shows mentioned or who has an interest in the entertainment industry. This is a great book and I wish Jennette McCurdy well in all her endeavors!
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