I'm Glad My Mom Died

Last updated

I'm Glad My Mom Died
I'm Glad My Mom Died Cover.png
Author Jennette McCurdy
LanguageEnglish
Genre Memoir
Publisher Simon & Schuster
Publication date
August 9, 2022
Pages320
ISBN 978-1-982185-82-4

I'm Glad My Mom Died is a memoir by American writer, director and former actress Jennette McCurdy based on her one-woman show of the same name. The book is about her career as a child actress and her difficult relationship with her abusive mother who died in 2013. This is McCurdy's first book and was published on August 9, 2022, by Simon & Schuster. [1]

Contents

Background

McCurdy had been a professional actress from age six until she announced that she had permanently stopped acting in 2017. [2] From 2009 to 2012, she was signed to Capitol Records Nashville, who released her self-titled debut studio album in 2012. [2]

McCurdy had previously written pieces in publications such as The Wall Street Journal and began writing personal essays shortly after. She sent some of the essays to her manager at the time, who encouraged her to write a book about her experiences. Rather than write a book, McCurdy created a one-woman show titled I'm Glad My Mom Died which she performed in Los Angeles and New York City. Plans to tour the show in other cities were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and she decided to write her material into a memoir. [1]

McCurdy stated that she had rejected $300,000 from Nickelodeon to not talk publicly about her experiences at the network, including actions of a producer at Nickelodeon described pseudonymously as "The Creator". [1] [3] [4] [5]

Book cover

The cover features McCurdy looking up and holding a pink urn with decorative paper spilling out. About the decision to use the photo for the book cover, McCurdy told Entertainment Weekly :

Confetti spilling out of an urn felt to me like a good way of capturing the humor in the tragedy, but I knew I didn't want to go as far as throwing the confetti or jumping in the air with a huge smile on my face or doing any other kind of body language / facial expression that could read as flippant. Ultimately I chose a facial expression that I think reads as sincere, a little pained, and a little hopeful. [6]

Synopsis

In the memoir, McCurdy discusses her childhood as a successful child actress, her brief foray into a career in country music, and the troubled and controlling relationship she had with her mother, Debra, who died from cancer in 2013. [7] [8] She describes a strained relationship with a producer at Nickelodeon she referred to only as "The Creator", who BuzzFeed News and other sources speculated to be Dan Schneider. [1] [3] [4] [9]

The book is divided into two sections, "Before" and "After", which describe the events of her life before and after the death of her mother. [10] [11]

Reception

The book sold out within 24 hours of going on sale at retailers such as Amazon, Target, and Barnes & Noble. [12] That same month it became a number one New York Times Best Seller for non-fiction in both hardcover and E-book, [13] selling over 200,000 copies across all formats in its first week of release. [14] As of early October 2023, it remained on the hardcover list 60 consecutive weeks. [15] According to Deadline, the book has sold nearly two million copies as of February 2023. [16]

I'm Glad My Mom Died was met with "rave" reviews from critics, with review aggregator Book Marks reporting that none of the nine reviews were negative or mixed. [17] [18] In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called the book "Insightful and incisive, heartbreaking and raw." [19] Kirkus Reviews , which also gave a starred review, wrote that the book is, "The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace." [20] Nana Li Coomes of The Atlantic called it "a layered account of a woman reckoning with love and violence at once." [21] Dave Itzkoff of The New York Times wrote that the memoir was, "A coming-of-age story that is alternately harrowing and mordantly funny." [1]

Sections of the book were referenced and discussed in the fourth episode of the docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV .

Accolades

Accolades received by "I'm Glad My Mom Died"
YearAwardCategoryResultsRef.
2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Best Memoir & AutobiographyWon [22]

Release history

Release history and formats for I'm Glad My Mom Died
CountryRelease dateEditionPublisherRef.
VariousAugust 9, 2022 [23]
  • Simon & Schuster Audio
 [24]
[25]

Translations

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Itzkoff, Dave (August 3, 2022). "Jennette McCurdy Is Ready to Move Forward, and to Look Back". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Spencer, Ashley (August 5, 2022). "Jennette McCurdy lived a teen star dream. Silently, she was suffering". The Washington Post . Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Cartan, Sabrina (August 18, 2022). "A Former Nickelodeon Star's Memoir Has Become the Summer's Big Hit Book. It's Very Clear Why". Slate.
  4. 1 2 ""This Phony, Bizarre Sphere": Jennette McCurdy's Shocking Final Days at Nickelodeon". Vanity Fair. August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  5. ↑ Spencer, Ashley (August 5, 2022). "Jennette McCurdy lived a teen star dream. Silently, she was suffering". Washington Post . Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  6. ↑ Marcus, Jones (April 4, 2022). "See the cover for former Nickelodeon star Jennette McCurdy's memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died". Entertainment Weekly.
  7. ↑ "Debra McCurdy (1957-2013) - Obituary". www.weremember.com.
  8. ↑ "I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy audiobook review – a painfully funny memoir". www.theguardian.com.
  9. ↑ Koul, Scaachi (August 8, 2022). "Jennette McCurdy Is Glad Her Mom Is Dead (Along With Her Nickelodeon Career)". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  10. ↑ ""This Phony, Bizarre Sphere": Jennette McCurdy's Shocking Final Days at Nickelodeon". Vanity Fair. August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Jennette McCurdy rises above childhood trauma with new book". AP NEWS. August 8, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  12. ↑ Hartzog, Oscar (August 12, 2022). "Jennette McCurdy's Revelatory Memoir Sells Out on Amazon, One Day After Release". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction". The New York Times. August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  14. ↑ Dwyer, Kate (August 17, 2022). "Jennette McCurdy's Memoir Is the Hit No One Was Ready For". The Wall Street Journal . ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  16. ↑ White, Peter (February 8, 2023). "Jennette McCurdy Signs With CAA". Deadline. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Book Marks reviews of I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy". Book Marks . Literary Hub . Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  18. ↑ Leone, Sophia (November 13, 2022). "SU needs more speakers like Jennette McCurdy who are outspoken on critical issues". The Daily Orange . Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  19. ↑ "I'm Glad My Mom Died". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  20. ↑ "I'm Glad My Mom Died". Kirkus Review. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  21. ↑ Coomes, Nina Li (August 19, 2022). "Don't Judge 'I'm Glad My Mom Died' by Its Title". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  22. ↑ "BEST BOOKS OF 2022". Goodreads. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  23. ↑ McCurdy, Jennette (August 9, 2022). I'm Glad My Mom Died. ISBN   978-1982185824.
  24. ↑ "I'm Glad My Mom Died (Audible Audio Edition)". Amazon. Archived from the original on August 22, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  25. ↑ I'm Glad My Mom Died (Audio CD). ISBN   179714796X.
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