I'm Glad My Mom Died

Bookseller recommendation

“There is something about listening to a memoir narrated by the person who wrote it that makes one’s experience feel complete. McCurdy’s writing 'voice' and actual one give dry humor and a low folksy charm while describing truly harrowing abuses from her mother. She doesn’t hold anything back whether it’s her time on set on iCarly to her first sexual experience to the description of her vomit after a binge and purge. If you wanted a fun celebrity tell-all…this ain’t it. This is a survivor’s story.”

— Lissa • Book Club Bar

Bookseller recommendation

“This book shines a light on the trauma involved with the child star industry, compelling form start to finish. Made me very thankful for my Mum.”

— Georgie • Devonport Bookshop

Bookseller recommendation

“I genuinely enjoyed this book, though it wasn't an easy read. The writing was superb, and the infusion of humor into a challenging narrative added a poignant layer. My heart goes out to Jeanette, and while her story is difficult, it provides a profound understanding of her journey and personal evolution. Despite the heaviness, I found the book to be a rewarding experience, and I wholeheartedly recommend giving it a read.”

— Alycia • Books on Main

Bookseller recommendation

“From the eyes and experiences of a child-actress, Jennette McCurdy recounts her life with a heavy focus on how her mother developed, impacted, and controlled it. It’s a fascinating and heavy read, and the lasting effect it leaves will make you really think about how you view celebrities. They are just as human as everyone else and the lasting thought this book leaves is: 'I wish her the best'. ”

— Makayla • Tattered Cover

Bookseller recommendation

“Woah! There is so much to unpack here. I put on the audiobook and finished it in two days because I just couldn't stop listening. I didn't grow up watching iCarly—coincidentally because I grew up Mormon—but Jennette McCurdy's memoir will strike a chord (many chords) with anyone who reads it. We could all do with a little more understanding on what it's like to be a child star, to have an abusive mother, to experience religious trauma, and to live with eating disorders and addiction. McCurdy tackles these subjects with the sensitivity of someone who understands while also being frank about how these experiences have affected and continue to affect her life. (And, if anyone is wondering, yes. That is how most Mormons think of the Holy Ghost.)”

— Kvothe • Rediscovered Books

Bookseller recommendation

“From the eyes and experiences of a child-actress, Jennette McCurdy recounts her life with a heavy focus on how her mother developed, impacted, and controlled it. It’s a fascinating and heavy read, and the lasting effect it leaves will make you really think about how you view celebrities. They are just as human as everyone else and the lasting thought this book leaves is: 'I wish her the best'. ”

— Makayla • Tattered Cover

Bookseller recommendation

“This is such an important memoir, tackling the difficulties of exploring the traumas of childhood abuse, the underbelly of the entertainment industry, and the addictive nature of eating disorders. By telling her story through her signature candid, dry humor, Jennette McCurdy has finally become known as a writer by her own name. ”

— Amanda Scroggins • Watermark Books

Bookseller recommendation

“The descriptions of what the author suffered through as a child stayed with me after finishing the book. A good reminder that we really don't know what goes on in someone's life behind their outward appearance.”

— Ellen • Banter Bookshop

Bookseller recommendation

“Wonderful read that draws you in with its intensity. While a lot of the content is heavy, there's an unflinching honesty about this memoir that is resounding and deeply touching. Not for the faint of heart (TW: eating disorders, child abuse, religious trauma)”

— Jayme • Second Flight Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Ah, the book that everyone is talking about. I had to try it. As a person who had a troublesome relationship with my own mother (not as troubling at Jeanette's), I took comfort in Jeanette's journey into learning to heal and make peace with mother's actions. It is a hard book to listen to, but Jeanette's honest and head-on approach made me keep listening. As I've told others, don't let the title put you off. Being around my own mother and dealing with her was mental and physically exhausting. There are days I am glad my mom died, but I still love her. And like Jeanette, I've learned that not all mothers deserve the pedestal they've been placed on.”

— Terri • Swamp Fox Bookstore

Bookseller recommendation

“Nickelodeon star Jennette McCurdy’s memoir of a childhood spent in the spotlight and under the thumb of her abusively controlling, narcissistic, cancer-surviving, Mormon mother is as bitterly funny as it is brutally honest. You will rage, cringe, gasp, cheer, laugh, literally scream out loud, hope against hope, and ultimately just root for McCurdy as she struggles to recover and reclaim her life. A triumph of real life horror, humor, and healing. ”

— Megan • Underground Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Jeanette McCurdy's story is incredibly heavy but she tells it with such careful humour and lightness. The author herself reads the book, which adds a huge amount of emotion to every passage but she is also a very talented narrator; whether you know who she is or are usually interested in celebrity memoirs or not, this book is an excellent read. ”

— CP • The Folkestone Bookshop