Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

3111 reviews

caselyn's review

emotional funny sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Vomit

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

ahjadareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

I don’t rate autobiographies/memoirs but WOW. Ms. Jennette McCurdy, the woman that you are. I felt all the things. But I’m most captivated by her ability to tell her story (which I’m so glad I got to hear thru the audio) in this lighthearted, humorous tone? She’s a great storyteller. As a kid who grew up watching iCarly, you kinda feel this guilt and sadness knowing that something you loved so much was causing someone so much misery. It makes me happy that her healing journey is underway. I also wasn’t prepared to relate to it as much as I did… maybe we all need a lil therapy??

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

katied90's review

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

nixicat1's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, and Medical content

taroroot's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

re-read this for an assignment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, and Gaslighting

lindasoderlundd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

heathersnerdyworld's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

3.0

I almost had to DNF this book due to the descriptions of her eating disorder. A rough read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

hkershaw28's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

vicwolfgang's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I really enjoyed this book. Jennette McCurdy tells her story with a raw honesty that is both deeply painful and strangely comforting. The memoir flows chronologically through her life, so it’s easy to follow and makes you feel immersed in her experiences. I especially appreciated how she conveys the complex, layered reality of growing up with an abusive parent—the denial, the internalized loyalty, and the suppressed rage accompanied by shame that lingers beneath the surface.

McCurdy does an excellent job of portraying what it feels like to be trapped in an abusive dynamic while slowly beginning to recognize the truth. The story is structured into short chapters with vivid memories which kept me so engaged I couldn’t put it down. Despite the heavy subject matter, the book has many moments of humor and a down-to-earth quality.

As someone who grew up watching iCarly and was the same age as her character, Sam, it was fascinating—and heartbreaking—to see behind the scenes and learn that we had more in common than I ever would have guessed during my teenage years.

With razor sharp accuracy McCurdy portrays the experience of being emotionally enmeshed with a mentally ill parent, the excruciating emotional and physical reality of eating disorders, and the exploitative nature of child stardom.

Despite all the darkness, the book ends with hope. McCurdy doesn’t offer an easy, sanitized version of healing—she acknowledges how long and difficult the process is—but she also shows that recovery is possible. Her story is a testament to resilience, and for those who have been through similar experiences, it’s a deeply validating and powerful read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction and Sexual content

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Religious bigotry

thegardenlesbian's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

Simply put, a great book. I usually don't care for memoirs (mainly because I don't care about famous people, especially celebrities) but this one was very thoughtful. I pretty much never watched the author's shows, so I didn't know much about her, but while reading I felt deeply for her. I hope she can be happy and that she goes on to do great things (even if it's 'just' being happy). Rather than being glad her mom died, I'm glad she seems recovered (or to be recovering, as it can be a lifelong process). Either way, her mom dying (both literally and, more importantly, metaphorically, as her presence was still within the author) definitely was what she needed  — even as heartless as it may sound.

My one critique: I would have loved to get more 'guidance' on i.e. what age she was when a chapter started, because I found myself sometimes lost at the beginning of some of them because of the time jump.

All in all, the author's writing style is enjoyable and realistic, showing both the vulnerable and the funny, balancing the cynical and apathetic with the emotional and caring.

That scene in the end when she recalls the time when she was purging without having checked that the rest of the stalls were empty beforehand, only for a kid to ask for her autograph as she's vomiting was, in all its unrelatability, completely relatable.

If you can tolerate the trigger warnings, I would definitely recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Blood, and Medical content

Minor: Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Lesbophobia