Rating - ⭐⭐⭐
"A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life."
I'm Glad My Mom Died is a memoir by Jennette McCurdy.
How does one rate and review someone's actual life story? I don't care to read memoirs or biographies, it's just not something I am drawn to, but I did need to read one to fulfill a prompt for a reading challenge, and this was the only one I was slightly interested in. Of course, that is because I have seen the raving reviews for this which is why I chose to read, or listen, to this.
I can't say I knew what to expect going into this though. I knew on some level it wouldn't be the easiest read, but I did end up struggling a bit while listening to it. Jennette recounts her childhood all the way up into her young adult life as she battles through various traumas and issues that largely stem from her mother and her treatment, or mistreatment, of her. While on some level it was difficult to have to listen to how badly her mother treated her, and how she didn't realize it until after her mother died, that part of the story was easier to get through for me.
What I struggled with was her struggles with eating disorders and how she coped with her trauma. I didn't really want to hear about that, especially since that did actually happen to her and it isn't a fictionalized tale. This also took up a good chunk of the book so I sat there for a good while being mildly uncomfortable with what I was hearing. Again, it is odd to be talking about a book in this way since it is a memoir, but I didn't have the greatest time listening to this. True crime I can handle, but eating disorders, addiction, and sex are something entirely different for me.
Again though, I can't really rate this based on my personal feelings, so I put my rating right in the middle. It wasn't easy to get through and it wasn't riveting literature, but it is a true story and you can't really put a rating on that.