iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy’s new memoir, “I’m Glad my Mom Died,” was released on Aug 9, 2022. This bombshell book describes the abuse and trauma she experienced as a child actor. Her book has already soared to #4 on Amazon’s best-seller charts and #2 in memoirs. Although the physical copy instantly sold out at Amazon, Target, Walmart and Barnes & Noble, the Kindle e-book is available on Amazon.

McCurdy’s book touches on heavy and uncomfortable subjects such as eating disorders, body-shaming, death, religious trauma, abuse and much more. The memoir opens by discussing McCurdy’s experience of sitting with her sick mother in the ICU. She states, “the thing that I’m sure will get her to wake up is the fact that in the days since mom’s been hospitalized, my fear and sadness have morphed into the perfect anorexia-motivation cocktail and, finally, I have achieved mom’s current goal weight for me. Eighty-nine pounds.” The book then goes on to describe how her mother mistreated her as a child and pressured her into being a child actress and becoming the “perfect” girl. Her mother even went as far as to shower her every night until she was sixteen to make sure she was perfectly clean for the camera. McCurdy’s mother also made Jennette share all her income, diaries, and emails with her. 

McCurdy also described what it was like working for Nickelodeon and the man she calls “The Creator.” This man is most likely Dan Scheider, the producer and creator of ICarly. Many other Nickelodeon stars have come forward, stating the mistreatment they experienced when working with Schneider.  This is what leads most readers to believe this is who McCurdy is referring to when she said that “The Creator” pressured her into drinking alcoholic beverages when she was eighteen, wearing bikinis and inappropriately massaging her without her consent. She also explained that Nickelodeon offered her $300,000 in hush money at one point, which she declined. McCurdy also declared that at times, she felt jealous about how her co-star, Ariana Grande, was treated during the set of Sam & Cat. She stated, “The week where I was told Ariana would not be here at all, and that they would write around her absence this episode by having her character be locked in a box. Are you kidding me? -So I have to turn down movies while Ariana’s off whistle-toning at the Billboard Music Awards? F**k. This.” 

Although McCurdy’s book has received some backlash for the controversial title, overall, the memoir has been a hit. New York Times bestselling author of Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing, Lauren Hough, proclaimed that “I’m Glad My Mom Died is furious, sad, brave, knowing, honest, heart-wrenching, and utterly compelling. McCurdy writes with a keen insight and startling compassion. Whether showing how dysfunction can seem normal to those most affected, the torture of eating disorders, or the mindf**k that is child stardom, McCurdy brings readers deep into the milieu so often hidden from outsiders. This is a beautifully crafted coming-of-age story as fearless as its author.”