An Exposé Of The Dark Side Of Child Stardom Gives Readers A Jarring Dose Of Reality
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Shockwaves went through the entertainment world when former iCarly star Jennette McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died was released in August. Shining a light on the dark and exploitive unseen lives of child actors, McCurdy yanked the curtain back and told of events throughout her life that made her into the adult she is today.
Separated into two parts, “Before” and “After,” the memoir recounted specific incidents throughout McCurdy’s young life before and after her mother Debra McCurdy died from cancer. Jennette wanted nothing more than to make her mother proud and keep the peace within the family. Her mother wanted desperately to become a star, and when she realized that she was unable to, Jennette became her ticket to stardom.
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Jennette began slowly moving up in the acting world, from background characters to small guest-starring roles on several TV shows. Her mother forced her into several acting, dance, and singing classes to give her the upper hand over her competition. When Debra realized that Jeanette was growing and getting older, she introduced her to calorie restrictions to keep her looking young in order to continue booking roles for kids. In fact, McCurdy was so small in size that she still needed to ride in a booster seat in the car when she was 14. She would go on to develop several eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia.
At one point, McCurdy told her mom that she did not want to act anymore, to which her mother began to cry and wail, screaming, "This was our chance! This was ouuuuur chaaaaance!" The mental anguish that her mother bestowed on her throughout her life is shocking and downright cruel. Calling her daughter a “floozy” and a “whore” all while asking for money for a new fridge in the same letter was both mind-boggling and, sadly, laughable.
McCurdy was not safe from trauma at Nickelodeon, either. She wrote about a man, only known as “The Creator,” who was reportedly Dan Schneider, the creator of iCarly, Drake and Josh, and Sam & Cat (a spin-off of iCarly). McCurdy and the other cast and crew were constantly on the receiving end of his explosive anger and inappropriate behavior. Schneider left the company in 2018.
I’m Glad My Mom Died is both heartbreaking and resilient. You want to reach into the pages and give her a warm hug and tell her that it’s going to be okay. She knows this even as she is still on the path to recovery from her numerous eating disorders to this day. She writes with reflective anger that every single one of us has felt before when thinking about a traumatic incident in our past. One thing that McCurdy wants readers to know is that while she does in fact miss her mom dearly, she’s also aware that if her mom were still alive, she would still be wrought with mental and physical issues. The title (and cover) of the book is incredibly jarring to see for the first time, but once you go through McCurdy’s life page by page, you will agree with her words.
Rating: 9/10
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