According to Entertainment Weekly, Jennette McCurdy has landed on the cover for her upcoming humorous and heartbreaking memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died. McCurdy, best known for her breakout role on the Nickelodeon sitcom iCarly as her character, Sam Puckett, has taken on her biggest role yet as a debut author. Her memoir will be published with Simon & Schuster and set to release this August.
The Humor in Heartbreak
A former child star reinvents herself after a lifetime of pain. Jennette McCurdy was born June 26, 1992, in Long Beach, CA. She began child acting when she was six years old. However, her acting breakthrough didn’t happen until she landed a role on Nickelodeon’s hit sitcom, iCarly. She starred alongside Miranda Cosgrove and Nathan Kress. Following this success, she landed another role portraying the popular-TV character on Nickelodeon’s Sam & Cat with singer Ariana Grande. Behind the success, McCurdy struggled with the pressures of her mother’s dream and expectations.
Following Her Mother’s Dream
Her mother’s dream was for Jennette to become a star. On the way to stardom, as a child, her mother implemented what she called “calorie restriction.” This process consisted of eating very little and weighing herself five times a day. Simon and Schuster also reveal that “She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.” One can only imagine the pain of being introduced to anorexia at such an early age, especially by your mother. Additionally, this constant routine took an emotional and physical toll on Jennette for years as she began to lose parts of herself she no longer recognized. Her mother passed away on September 20, 2013, after battling cancer for 17 years.
McCurdy briefly starred in the Netflix series Between and had a short country music career until she quit acting altogether to pursue writing and directing in 2017. She wrote and directed several short films and performed a one-woman show, “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” which sold out at the Lyric Hyperion Theatre. As of now, she hosts a podcast called “Empty Inside,” where she explores deep conversation on specific topics varying from comedy, eating disorders, filmmaking, and jealousy. Jennette McCurdy has been able to process her trauma through her writing, short films, and now, her memoir.
I’m Glad My Mom Died
The title of her memoir may seem jarring to some, but the context of Jennette’s heartbreak will make you understand how dark humor serves its purpose by healing. From being thrown into acting at such an early age, Jennette was never really asked what she wanted out of life. In this memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all the harmful details of her life experiences as a child, a child actor, and the aftermath.
Her mother lived vicariously through her daughter’s overwhelming career so much that she was on a first-name basis with the paparazzi. Jennette struggled to maintain the perfect image for her mother. While attempting to cope with severe anxiety, the immense pain soon led her to eating disorders, addiction, and toxic relationships. The degree of Jennette’s pain cannot be summed up in a few paragraphs, and the extent of her mother’s impact does not stop there.
In Jennette’s book, we learn that she finally discovers what she truly wants. She discusses her long recovery process and her newfound therapy. Her vulnerability allows the reader to understand the severity of her trauma. Although she doesn’t owe her readers an explanation for her feelings, Jennette still does so through these heartbreaking stories and a bit of humor to break the ice. She discusses the emotional and physical abuse she faced from her mother while not shying away from telling the whole story. Growing up, Jennette had a hard time speaking up for herself, and this book is her redemption. In her memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette inspires those who initially lacked the tools to defend themselves and shows us how to reclaim our power.
The “Controversial” Cover
After a long run of looking over different covers, McCurdy landed on a dark and comical cover that features her holding an urn spilling out confetti. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, over email she explained, “Confetti spilling out of an urn felt to me like a good way of capturing the humor in the tragedy, but I knew I didn’t want to go as far as throwing the confetti or jumping in the air with a huge smile on my face or doing any other kind of body language / facial expression that could read as flippant … Ultimately I chose a facial expression that I think reads as sincere, a little pained, and a little hopeful.”
Many of us, especially nowadays, use humor to cope with the pain we face or the trauma we are still processing. It reminds us that even in our struggles, we are not alone. Jennette McCurdy leaves us, readers, with an inspiring story about overcoming your childhood traumas and a darkly humorous perspective on healing.
When and Where Can I Read This?
The book will be published by Simon & Schuster and set to release this fall on August 9th, 2022. It is available for pre-order now. Additionally, Jennette McCurdy will narrate the audiobook version of her memoir. Jennette shares her heartbreaking story in a whole new way. Make room on your bookshelf or in your Audible library for a memoir meant to inspire and leave you feeling every possible emotion on a remarkable journey to resilience.
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