Author: Jennette McCurdy

Who is this Celebrity: Jennette McCurdy is best known for playing Sam Puckett on the Nickelodeon TV series  iCarley and Sam and Cat.

What gets discussed: 

In her memoir, Jennette McCurdy reflects on her career and journey as a child actor. Including, starting as an extra on shows like The X-Files and various guest spots on Malcolm in the Middle and MadTV. Finally, making it to her big break by being cast as Sam Puckett for iCarly and Sam and Kat. Her mother, is ever-present, throughout as  her chief enabler both in developing a career as well as an eating disorder.  Fortunately, Jenette ends up getting help and eventually walking away acting so that she could pursue opportunities towards finding a career of her choosing.

Most Shocking Revelation: 

There are so many revelations about her life and experience as a young up-and-coming actor in Hollywood it is hard to classify any single one as the most shocking. To list them here would be to spoil a poignant memoir and should best be read in the context of the full book. 

What’s it like to Read

As a child, McCurdy tried to make a go of writing, an act her mother quickly brushed off in favor of her daughter becoming an actress. That desire clearly stayed with McCurdy as she seems to channel all her latent energy into writing ‘I’m glad my Mom Died’.

To say the book is well-written is an understatement. You hear the inner voice of doubting and confusion as a child who reluctantly becomes an actress at the urging of her mother. The writing moves deliberately to a mature and clear tone as McCurdy recounts her later years which includes eating disorder and issues with substance abuse. You find yourself rooting for her as McCurdy resolves to resolve to get better.

Far from a woe is my tale McCurdy, writes in a way where readers can immediately sympathize with her. Imagine being known for what you did in middle school. That one moment of your life immortalized on television that world will not let you let go of. The weight and the repression that would be carried into adulthood might be too hard to bear.

To quote MCurdy:

“It doesn’t help that I’m famous for a thing I started when I was a kid. I think of what it would be like if everyone was famous for a thing they did when they when they were thirteen: their middle school band, their seventh-grade science project, their eighth-grade play.”

As ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ concludes  McCurdy leaves Hollywood and like anyone eager to leave their teen years behind, who could blame her?