A review by readwithev
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
emotional
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Jennette conveys her childhood, teens and early twenties in short vignettes. The length and pacing is perfect. Written in 1st person, but not self pittying. She reflects on her life and her family with curiosity, empathy, and grace. The scenes don’t grow redundant. The earlier chapters are painful as she describes her distorted over-glorification of her mother, dismisses troubling behavior, assigns guilt for perceived or minor mistakes, and seeks constant validation.
This memoir is barely 300 pages but she packs so much in. The confusion, the budding OCD, the emergence of her eating disorders, her dysfunctional relationships, and her bumpy road to recovery. I felt my chest tighten with anxiety for “Child Jennette.”
I appreciate the vulnerability and honesty, especially when she talks about slips in recovery, her fear around food, and the non-linear path of her grief.
My only criticism is the lack of details around her brothers’ experiences growing up and if they also suffer abuse. How did they grieve their mother’s death? How did they heal? I understand that Jennette did not include details to protect their privacy, but I think I would have appreciated closure. She obviously loves them (because she dedicated the book to them). I think I just a happy ending for all of them because their childhood was so screwed up.
I highly recommend this book, but it will not be an easy breezy beautiful read. I finished it in one day, but I’ll need sometime to process it.
Spoiler
“Don’t all children worry about their entire families?” This line hurt me. The anxiety she develops around her physical home, her mother’s unpredictable moods, and self-induced shame hit home for me (like girl that’s too relatable 🙃). There’s a bit of dark and facetiousness humor to soften the trauma (that again is 100% relatable).This memoir is barely 300 pages but she packs so much in. The confusion, the budding OCD, the emergence of her eating disorders, her dysfunctional relationships, and her bumpy road to recovery. I felt my chest tighten with anxiety for “Child Jennette.”
I appreciate the vulnerability and honesty, especially when she talks about slips in recovery, her fear around food, and the non-linear path of her grief.
My only criticism is the lack of details around her brothers’ experiences growing up and if they also suffer abuse. How did they grieve their mother’s death? How did they heal? I understand that Jennette did not include details to protect their privacy, but I think I would have appreciated closure. She obviously loves them (because she dedicated the book to them). I think I just a happy ending for all of them because their childhood was so screwed up.
I highly recommend this book, but it will not be an easy breezy beautiful read. I finished it in one day, but I’ll need sometime to process it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Self harm, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, and Cancer
Minor: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts