As you can tell, I was on a bit of a memoir bender. All these faces I grew up with were bashing out insights into their lives and it would be disrespectful not to see them for who they really are after all this time. This one, you'll be interested to know, is not signed.
Jennette McCurdy was a familiar face in my household for a time. Yes, I was an iCarly fan. I admired her character, Sam, and the strength she showed, also her relationship with food. As a bigger girl it was always nice to see a popular character holding her own while having a large relationship with food. My only bug bare was why doesn't she look like me? Why is she still so skinny? Now I know.
The way Jennette writes her memoir is both fascinating and heartbreaking. It isn't looking back, it is as if it is happening now. She writes about her relationship with food, her mental health problems, her career, but primarily how her relationship with her mum impacted all of these things.
Jennette's memoir is titled I'm Glad My Mom Died and after reading this book I am not surprised. That poor girl needed an escape. WHY DID NO ONE STICK UP FOR HER?
The reviews for this book are widely positive, I've seen a lot where they've called it funny and witty. I'll admit, Jennette is witty, she is an extremely intelligent woman, you can see that throughout this book as she describes how she was able to spot and tailor her behavior to those around them even at a really young age. But I wouldn't have said this book nor any part in it was funny. This is a girl who is writing her pain and trauma which is no doubt still extremely raw for her, down for public scrutiny and so is hiding behind a wall of good humour and amusing phrases, if you can even call it that. She's building a shield right in front of our eyes to protect herself even now because as she's learnt there are still some really shitty people out there. Her main villain may be gone but there are plenty left to step up.
All I want to do is give her a hug and tell her I'm sorry no one was there for her. This is a woman who doesn't need my pity or my sympathy though, despite all that she has faced she is still strong even in her weakest moments. Despite all that though, and how I am so sure she'd hate that, I still just want to make sure she is okay now. Jennette is not masses older than I am, she's released a memoir with a fair few pages, she has fucking lived. You resign memoirs to aging actors, those who have retired or need money, or those who are dead or near it. I'm not sure if this is Jennette's mother's memoir via proxy or the final chapter in a past Jennette is setting free as she is clearly not that person anymore. But to my knowledge she isn't dying, her career is far from over and I doubt she is bankrupt. I'm really glad she chose to share this with the world though, she used to inspire people for being nothing more than a teen on Nickelodeon, now she's inspiring people for being herself.
I'm almost glad Jennette retired from acting. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see her on the screen again one day, but I like the fact she retreated into the stage instead. She did a one woman tour for a time and I think it is novel yet brilliant when big screen actors retreat back into the cosiness of a stage production rather than launching up into the stars from them. My point is she needed something to slow her down, to help her start to heal. It would be no good if she didnt have anything to challenge her, the stage and writing is the perfect way to wind down and exert yourself.
I'm actually quite hesitant to say much on this book actually. It was scarring, yet reassuring, but again this was someone's life, and there isn't a happy ending per say because she's still bloody living and it isn't a work of fiction. We have no idea if Jennette is going to be okay or is okay, we just know she has survived thus far. But this is certainly unlike any book or even any memoir I have ever read or am likely to read again.
It was nice to catch the glimpses of how the other half live though, you know, through her trauma. It was interesting to see the casting calls, auditions, and actually being on set through the eyes of someone who didn't actually want to be there and had no interest in the job they were doing. With Tom Felton you could see these experiences through nerves and the penultimate thrill of getting the role. With Tom you also got to see his experience when his mental health took a turn and those same experiences. With Geena Davis we got to see the same thing but through her determination, each of these people we saw the wins and losses and it painted a grander picture of the process actors go through, despite two out of the three of these accounts being mainly positive, the grander picture is still that this is a hardcore industry and not for the faint of heart or altogether very fun.
I'd like to give my opinion as an 8/10. I was shook half the time. Jennette's story and the way she has recorded her account genuinely rattled me in places and I'm disgusted at some of the men's actions around her as well as her own mother. I'm glad I read this, I got to know someone I looked up to a little better.
So what did you think of I'm Glad My Mom Died? Leave me a comment on my socials!
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