“If I start to grow up, mom won’t love me as much.” Jennette McCurdy writes, “…Sometimes I’d eat even less because I wanted my mom to be proud,”
McCurdy’s mom would teach her how to count calories. Together, they were a team, a secret team. McCurdy’s mom, Debra McCurdy, told young McCurdy to keep it a secret. But McCurdy still looked forward to restricting food because it was an opportunity for the two of them to get closer. Later in 2013, her mom died, and she started purging.
This is one of the stories McCurdy told from her childhood in her book,” I’m Glad My Mom Died’. This book documents her feelings and memories from before and after her mom died. McCurdy was a Nickelodeon actor, best known for playing Sam Puckett on “iCarly” and its spin-off show, “Sam and Cat.”
In 2018, she quit acting and began pursuing a career as an author. Her book ”I’m Glad My Mom Died” was released on Aug. 9, 2022, as her debut memoir. Recently, she published her second piece, “Half His Age,” which was released on Jan. 20, 2026.
This book is interesting because it explores her tragic relationship with her mom, religion and food, along with the mistreatment she faced on set as a child actor. The book begins with the introduction of her broken family, her abusive mother, and her apathetic father. This book is written through the lens of her childhood self and adult self.
The book details how she was pushed into acting at Nickelodeon and, in turn, developed disordered eating. Her complex relationship with food was directly influenced and encouraged by her mother. In the second half of the book, she writes about her struggles with the cognitive dissonance of her life; she does things that she knows are unhealthy, but continues to do them anyway.
“I’m Glad My Mom Died” is a book that won the Goodreads Choice Awards in the best memoir/autobiography category in 2022 and is also a New York Times bestseller. The book is currently in production for an AppleTV+ adaptation. This will star Jennifer Aniston as an 18-year-old McCurdy and will show McCurdy navigating her experiences.
The book shows the layers of McCurdy’s psyche through her treatment by her mom. If you’re interested in a child actor’s upbringing and the dark underbelly beneath show business, read this book!
