''I'm Glad My Mom Died'' is a memoir by American writer, director and former actress

Jennette McCurdy Jennette Michelle Faye McCurdy (born June 26, 1992) is an American writer, director, podcaster, singer and former actress. McCurdy's breakthrough role as Sam Puckett in the Nickelodeon sitcom '' iCarly'' (2007–2012) earned her various awards ...

based on her

one-woman show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

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. It is McCurdy's first book and was published on August 9, 2022, by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

Background

McCurdy was a professional actress from age six until she announced that she had permanently stopped acting in 2017. From 2009 to 2012, she was signed to

Capitol Records Nashville Capitol Records Nashville is a major United States-based record label located in Nashville, Tennessee operating as part of the Universal Music Group Nashville. From 1991 to 1995, Capitol Nashville was known as Liberty Records, before returning ...

, who released her self-titled debut studio album in 2012. 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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and she decided to write her material into a memoir.

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 the ''Entertainment Weekly'':

Synopsis

In the memoir, McCurdy discusses her childhood as a successful child actress (including a strained relationship with a producer described only as "The Creator"), her brief foray into a country music career and the troubled and controlling relationship she had with her mother, Debra, who died from cancer in 2013. 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.

Reception

The book sold out within 24 hours of going on sale at retailers including

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, and

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. That same month it became a number one ''New York Times'' Best Seller for non-fiction in both hardcover and E-book, selling over 200,000 copies across all formats in its first week of release. ''I'm Glad My Mom Died'' was met with "rave" reviews from critics, with review aggregator

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reporting that none of the nine reviews were negative or mixed. In a

starred review A starred review is a book review __NOTOC__ A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece ...

, ''

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'' called the book "Insightful and incisive, heartbreaking and raw." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'', 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."

Dave Itzkoff David L. Itzkoff (born March 2, 1976) is an American journalist and writer who is a culture reporter for ''The New York Times''. He is the author of ''Cocaine's Son'', a memoir about growing up with his drug-abusing father. Before joining the '' ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that the memoir was, "A coming-of-age story that is alternately harrowing and mordantly funny."

Release history

References