I'm Glad My Mom Died Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Jennette McCurdy (Author, Narrator), Simon & Schuster Audio (Publisher)

(4.7) 49,024 ratings

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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

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.

Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called “calorie restriction,” eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, “Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn’t tint hers?” She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.

In I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly, she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (“Hi Gale!”), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.

Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.

Listening Length

6 hours and 26 minutes
Author

Jennette McCurdy
Narrator

Jennette McCurdy
Audible release date

August 9, 2022
Language

English
Publisher

Simon & Schuster Audio
ASIN

B09VHWC5YK
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	6 hours and 26 minutes
Author	Jennette McCurdy
Narrator	Jennette McCurdy
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	August 09, 2022
Publisher	Simon & Schuster Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B09VHWC5YK
Best Sellers Rank	#19 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #1 in Dysfunctional Families (Audible Books & Originals) #1 in Dysfunctional Families (Books) #1 in Relationships (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

49,024 global ratings

5 star		79%
4 star		15%
3 star		4%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Emily Tayfel

Wow.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 1, 2023

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4.5 stars-5 stars

This book was so heartbreaking but also so beautifully written. I love that it didn’t feel like most autobiography books feel, but because of the way it was written it felt like I was reading it as it happened. It’s heartbreaking to read this story and know what so much was going on behind closed doors that we as fans/viewers could’ve never known. Each time I read something and would think it couldn’t get worse, it got worse. Excuses can be made that her mom wasn’t mentally well, and I do agree with that, but I don’t think that ever gives someone the excuse to be a horrible person. I mean, I can’t imagine having a parent force their wishes on you, especially at that young of an age.

I admire her courage in stepping forward with her story. I know this couldn’t have been easy, but she did an amazing job sharing about her eating disorders, her abuse, and her fears. This book was raw and truthful and I applaud her for that.

One person found this helpful

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carmen

Oh Jennette….how could we have known?

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 16, 2023

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I’m significantly older than the iCarly crowd; my children, too young. As it wasn’t a staple in our household, I’d only seen a few episodes. I do remember really liking Miranda Kerr, perfectly cast as the smart ,ambitious girl, was very likable, even from an adult standpoint. But my favorite was Jennette McCurdy. Sam spoke, not only to the rebel in us all, but to the bigger picture. She was completely unaffected, unapologetic and downright comfortable in her skin.

How McCurdy pulls this off, amidst being sexually and emotionally abused by a mother, who put her in the position of family breadwinner (at age eight) is incomprehensible. Tragic irony is all we can see, as she’s capitulated to stardom in the role of the comedian.

Apparently, it wasn’t enough for McCurdy’s mother to sexually and emotionally traumatize her: in the purest form of dysfunction, McCurdy’s mother teaches her the fine points of anorexia. And under the guise of being a supportive mother, she tells McCurdy (as she’s entering puberty) that she must look as young as possible. Only severe calorie restriction would stop her from growing quickly, and expand her chances at being cast. She even sets a goal weight for her (now-teenaged) daughter:

89 lbs.

But the real genius of this book is that McCurdy speaks in the voice of the child she was and, painfully, still seems to be. How could she not? Her life stopped at the age of eight, when she realized the one person she should have been able to trust the most, was the person trying to destroy her. McCurdy gives us all the details and leaves them there for us to either accept or reject. Her credibility never waivers and she lays everything bare as it pertains to herself.

It’s a graphic novel. It’s hard to read, at times. I recognized myself as the daughter who only wanted her mother to be happy and proud of her. The daughter that just wanted to be enough.

But the flipside was that I found it impossible to read this book and suspend any self-examination of myself as a mother. I’ve used tears to guilt-trip and manipulate my kids, justifying my behavior by wallowing in the (preferred) state of denial and excuses. It was OK, because it was for their own good. But McCurdy reminds us that the power wielded by mothers is immeasurable, and that the same love and devotion we use to nurture our children and keep them safe can also be used to destroy them. It’s sort of like an avalanche; we kick a small rock at the top, forgetting what it gathers up on the way down, and how it ends.

Being a mother can be the best or worst job in the world, sometimes changing hourly. McCurdy is right when she observes that any and all mothers are automatically perceived, as Saints (I always figured it was because women need some motivation to procreate-instant deification seems a good start). However, McCurdy rails against this societal dogma, and she’s right to do so. We don’t deserve anything for making the choice to become a mother. If anything, we set ourselves up for the hardest job imaginable, yet are guilty of treating it, as an afterthought .No one can really tell us how to do it and the benefits are never certain. But we signed up for it. We are reminded of our obligation to our children, as we see things fall apart for McCurdy, and we realize that her story is a cautionary tale in every way.

198 people found this helpful

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Teresa Shubert

If Only a Hug Could Heal!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 1, 2023

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Where do I start? As a mom, it was difficult to read how the actions of another mom could be so emotionally damaging to her child in the pursuit of her own selfish ambitions. But what is a child to do at such a young age, when they rely on the ‘good intentions’ of the parent to always be both their protector and cheerleader? Children are so vulnerable and ever pleasing, so it’s not a surprise to see how Jeanette tried to juggle both – with the ever-pleasing part of her personality so heartbreakingly dominate. She tells her story with honesty, wit, pain, and self-discovery – with the later coming at her own expense through the journey of her traumatic childhood. It is no wonder that she suffered from so many of the self-destructive, and mom-induced actions of her youth, which not surprisingly, then followed her into adulthood – which was tragic in itself, affecting this transition. I both loved her story, but hated what I was reading at the same time! I had to keep reading, though, because I needed to see how Jeanette would come out of this trauma, but I was only slightly fulfilled at the end, wanting her to emerge unscathed. But just like any person who has experienced trauma in their life – time cannot completely erase it all. Still, as a mom, I feel like I want to give Jeanette a Motherly hug and tell her everything will be okay one day, because just like my own child – I want her to feel whole and deeply loved!

21 people found this helpful

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Luka

Impossible to put down!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 27, 2023

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I should start this review off by saying am by no means an avid reader, I pick up a book and I'm lucky if I'm not bored by chapter 4 but I swear I could not put this book down I completely finished it in a day . In this book Jennette McCurdy has mastered the art of talking about how excruciating eating disorders and mental illness is and the struggles of getting better with them while also keeping it lighthearted enough to not make you sickeningly upset or disturbed and that is a truly amazing feat. This book is the first book in a long time that I have actually finished, read every word of and loved every word of, I very much enjoyed this book.

4 people found this helpful

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Michelle R. Hall

wow

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 29, 2023

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This book should be read by all women. It’s an insight into how parents can mold is into what we become. It resonates with me in a way as well. Our moms do their best, but what that best is is different in some families. Sometimes all the criticism about our weight, our looks, our careers, how we raise our own children, destroys how we view ourselves. Yet, they think they are “helping”. The cycle can continue. This helps me to understand why I have some of the insecurities and anxiety struggles. It helps me to remember that I don’t have to do this to my own kids. Great read.

One person found this helpful

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C. Butler

Heartbreaking in its Honesty

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 1, 2023

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The book is honest and heartbreaking in ways that are hard to describe. As an outsider, the emotional manipulation and abuse that Jennette was subjected to from a very early age is painful and obvious to the reader. But its also clear why she didn't see her situation for what it was. She was manipulated for so long, she didn't know any different. I am happy that Jennette has found peace, health, and happiness and I wish her well in the future.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

SHIELDFAN

COMPULSORY READING FOR ALL NEW PARENTS

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 18, 2022

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There are several key take-aways from this excellent book, notably;

Parenting is a profession;

Certain behaviours in a parent/child relationship cannot be excused by good intentions;

Parenting failures can have lifelong consequences for the physical and mental well-being of your children;

Respect and loyalty do not come automatically with parenthood, any more than they do with rank or position;

Any interference with the natural process of puberty is child abuse;

Narcissistic behaviours by parents are killers of parent/child relationships;

Complete openness and transparency in a parent/child relationship are vital; and

Last but not least, there is a world of difference between attention-seeking and awareness-raising.

Various posts on social media about I’M GLAD MY MUM DIED clearly convey the message that Jennette McCurdy is perceived by some to be an attention-seeker. Everyone is entitled to his/her own view, but I for one find this worrying. Would an attention-seeker write a book about a mother who wiped her daughter’s backside when she (the daughter) was 8? And who made her daughter shower with her brothers when she was 11 and they were 16 “because she didn’t want her to grow up”? And who attempted to stop her daughter’s breasts from developing by means of calorie restriction? And who performs regular examinations of her daughter’s breasts and vagina just to see if there are any lumps or bumps? And who failed to tell her daughter that her “father” was not in fact her biological father? One is reminded of what the late great Oliver Hardy said in the feature film SONS OF THE DESERT, after he and his pal Stan Laurel have lied to their wives about going to Honolulu and being shipwrecked; “It’s too far-fetched NOT to be the truth.” The narrative of this book is most definitely not that of an attention-seeker and Jennette deserves kudos for acknowledging, albeit only after the death of her mother Debra, that she (Jennette) had her on a pedestal. “I was conditioned to believe any boundary I wanted was a betrayal of her, so I stayed silent.” In writing this book, Jennette sets the record straight in a very convincing and down-to-earth manner.

The consequences of parenting failures on a child cannot be overstated. For Jennette, they led to bulimia and alcohol abuse, which led to loss of teeth and, believe it or not, weight gain. They also led to reliance on a therapist whose advice was objectively not the best. “Your mother was only doing the best for you, Jennette,” says Laura, her therapist, making the same mistake as Jennette herself did for many years. Jennette sensibly dumps her.

For every attention-seeker there are at least three awareness-raisers. Jennette McCurdy is 100% in the latter category and her book is all the more readable for it. Every prospective parent needs to read it. If it saves just one child from the abuse that Jennette suffered, it will be worth its weight in gold. A full five-star rating from me.

72 people found this helpful

K W

Good read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 4, 2022

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A hard hitting account of a difficult and abusive relationship between a mother and daughter.
Another case of a daughter having to carry their mother's trauma. A daughter asking for love and receiving confusing messages of unworthiness and abuse.
Jennette's account of the abuse she endured as a child, is heartbreaking yet her honesty refreshing. Anyone who has experienced the pain of that awakening, entering adulthood and realising that their childhood hasn't been normal, that their experiences are actually classified as abuse, will be able to connect with Jennette's words.
Jennette talks a lot about anorexia and bulimia which could potentially be a trigger for some. She is very honest and graphic about her struggles with bulimia.
If you, like me, were abused by a parent, you may get the feeling I got when reading this of not being alone. Though the types of abuse may differ, the feelings I had as a child were very similar.
I love how Jennette is helping normalise the fact that, just because someone gives you life, that doesn't mean that you owe them a thing if they choose to mistreat you. For so long we have been told as a society to worship and respect our parents, to speak negatively of a parent is looked down upon. It is ok to end contact with a parent that is abusive. If you set boundaries and they are not respected time and time again, that person doesn't deserve your time.
I received a birthday card just like the email Jennette received, telling me how bad of a daughter I was, and that I was being disowned. It hurt tremendously.
I'm so happy that Jenette is living her own life now and making her own choices. It gives me strength to see how well she is doing. The book has made me want to carry on with my therapy and healing process. She makes it clear that unpacking all the emotional trauma, facing it, understanding why it happened and the realisation that, its not your fault, is the best way to move forward.
You can never fully understand why a parent abuses their child but you CAN reach that point where you know, as the child, it's not your fault. It's not on you, you were not the one with a problem that needed fixing. That's the important part.

43 people found this helpful

D. Beecher

I think this book will save lives.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 25, 2022

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Very few of us experience the challenges of being a child star. But many, many more of us have experienced some of the abuse that Jeannette experienced. Growing up in emotional chaos or physical chaos. Having disturbing sexual experiences too young. Developing eating disorders. Over the course of the book Jeannette learns to name what her mother put her through as abuse. She learns how to engage with therapy and start working on her eating disorders. ED's have the highest death rate of any mental illness. I think there are people who will recognise themselves in this book and I hope recognise the need to get help.

On top of that it is very well written, easy to read in spite of the difficult subject matter, extremely engaging. It makes it clear, if the well known trajectories of other child stars have not, that tv and film need to seriously reform how they use child actors or not use them at all. I wish Jeannette McCurdy all the success in the world as a writer and director.

16 people found this helpful

Larissa

Highly Recommend

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on August 13, 2022

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I'm Glad My Mom Died was hard to read. I had to take little breaks just because the abuse McCurdy describes was so visceral and heartbreaking (the scenes told from her younger self, in particular, got to me).

I would definitely recommend reading this story when you're in a good mental place. I honestly did not see the humor that others described. This was just a really harrowing story, though I will say I enjoyed the ending. It felt very satisfying and I hope writing this was a cathartic experience for McCurdy. I wish the best for her, and it feels wonderful that McCurdy achieved her writing dreams through this powerful memoir. I hope we see more writing from her in the future.

37 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Surprisingly well written!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 15, 2022

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Finally got round to reading I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy and I have to say, it did not disappoint. I don’t usually read memoirs, least of all, celebrity memoirs, as I find the entire premise of reading about the lives of privileged white folk and their so-called ‘problems’ somewhat jarring. But this was so different.

Jennette takes us through her career as a child actress and how she was forced into the industry by her abusive mother. While our lives are completely different, I found I resonated with Jennette’s experiences on such a personal level. It’s startling to think so many of us have experienced such similar cycles of abuse that contributed to our childhood traumas and how we now function as adults.

I was also extremely impressed with Jennette’s writing style; she is eloquent, witty and her writing flows beautifully. The chapters were also short and snappy but packed a punch which I love as I found I was able to fly through the book in two days. The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is because I don’t think it’s a book I’ll ever read again. That said, Jennette’s story and her journey towards healing is one that will, no doubt, stay with me for a long time.

9 people found this helpful

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I'm Glad My Mom Died Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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