Memoir Book Club - "I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jeannette McCurdy

In the Memoir Mentors Book Club, we read memoirs with a memoirist’s eye, looking for things that we could use in our writing or things we want to avoid. Our conversation will focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the writing and how we might incorporate these things into our writer's toolboxes.

Come on by even if you haven't read the book. We always have interesting conversations.

This time we’ll be discussing I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy. Book description:
ennette 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.

Book club questions can be found here: https://memoirmentors.com/book-club-questions/

Sign up to the Memoir Mentors Mailing List here:
http://eepurl.com/g29101

Find us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/memoirmentors

Find out more about our group at: https://memoirmentors.com/