Reviews tagging 'Blood'

I'm Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy

297 reviews

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

3.5

The way this memoir is written tricks the reader into thinking that the topic is light and happy when the reality is,  Jennette’s story is utterly wrong in every way. Narcissistic parents exploit their children in irreparable and unforgivable ways and Jennette’s mom is no different. There were parts of this book that were so relatable, especially the manipulation. Even though I experienced a narcissistic parent in a different context than Jennette the parallels were spot-on. I particularly appreciated the last page — I agree with the author, that we glorify the dead too much, refusing to see the person who was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Death of parent, Grief, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Vomit, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Dementia

jkohls's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

4/5 As someone who doesn’t typically read biographies, found it hard to rate someone’s life 4 stars. However, I really think this was a great first biography. Even though this book took me a long time to read, it was worth it. She writes very honestly and doesn’t really portray herself as the protagonist. I definitely recommend this book if you are looking to get into biographies. You might just want to make sure your heads in the right place before you do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Cancer, Terminal illness, Body shaming, Vomit, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Grief, Death, Eating disorder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Classism, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Drug use, Addiction, and Bullying

Minor: Cursing, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, and Forced institutionalization

mads_jpg's review

dark emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

I grew up watching iCarly, so in a way I felt like I was growing up with Jennette and Miranda. I remember growing out of the Nickelodeon pantheon right as Sam&Cat started, and wondering if Jennette also felt like she was outgrowing the network. Little did I know that Jennette had never really wanted it in the first place. 

Reading her story and just how abusive not just her mother, but other people in her life were, was hard to stomach. Knowing now what she went through for all those years is devastating, and really shines a light on the industry of children's TV and how easy it can be for kids to be exploited. And this is just the life of a successful actor, who knows what other children have gone through who weren't successful enough to gain independence, or weren't able to shake their parent's grip, child star or otherwise. 

For a book with such frightening details of abuse and mental illness, it's still incredibly funny and engaging, as well as hopeful for people struggling with eating disorders. I really hope the popularity of this book means it has reached the people who need it most. And I hope Jennette is now living the life she always deserved.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Grief, Vomit, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Drug use, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, and Cursing

marigold82's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

5.0

A story that will stay with me. This definitely helps remind me that you can never tell from the outside what a person is going through. Her voice is unique and straight to the point. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Chronic illness, Medical content, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, and Grief

ahopper7's review

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death of parent, Vomit, and Cancer

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

kimilyn's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

Everyone and their mom has raved about this book since it came out. It’s well deserved. Jennette looks back and portrays every event with humor and pathos. From her mother forcing her into acting at six and teaching her how to be anorexic at eleven, her alcoholism, her first romances, and finally her unraveling after her mother’s death. It’s tragic and upsetting but ultimately hopeful. 

I wish there had been a bit more about her coming to grips with her mother’s abuse. What it was like finally acknowledging it and coming to terms with it. Maybe a bit more about why she finally feels that she can be glad her mom died. 

This book was really good though. Powerful and vulnerable. Definitely recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Cursing, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Grief, Terminal illness, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Blood

redphonebooth3's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

Wow, just wow. As someone who LOVED iCarly as a kid, this really puts that whole show and Jennette of course into a new perspective. Its nearly unbelievable what she was dealing with for so many years of her life and no one had a clue.
This book is not for the faint of heart and definitely not for those who are in the throes of mental health and ED issues themselves, but I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who feels robust enough. 
Yes she was a great actor (it's unfortunate her experience with acting was so negative since she does have a knack for it), but clearly her writing skills are not lacking in the least either. I was really taken along on her journey and while I saw the wrongness in many situations, I also saw why it took so long for her to realise that wrongness. She managed to capture her childlike nativité without sugarcoating the situation in a great balance that really managed to immerse me fully. Nothing but praise for her and the best of luck. She deserves nothing but the best for herself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Emotional abuse, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Blood, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Cancer, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Chronic illness, Body shaming, and Addiction

annabulkowski's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Child death, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Terminal illness

pageafter_paige's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

4.0

I actually really enjoyed Janettes writing style. Her memoir was extremely honest and raw. She was so vulnerable in her writing but she has such a strong voice. There’s so much trauma talked about in this book yet the story talks about the recovery side of it as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Physical abuse, Cancer, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Death, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Vomit, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

larzhagen's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Religious bigotry

Minor: Abandonment and Stalking