I’m Glad My Mom Died: A former child star lays her sad story bare in a riveting memoir

Jennette McCurdy’s controlling and manipulative mother made her years as a Nickelodeon sitcom star a living hell, one which is explored at length in this moving but extremely bleak autobiography

Jennette McCurdy: exposed to abuse and manipulation during her time in Nickelodeon’s iCarly

This memoir from an ex-child star is, to put it mildly, an unusual proposition. On the cover, Jennette McCurdy wears an “Oh well!” half-shrug, half-smile. She’s dressed in pink and backdropped in bright yellow. It’s like a Babysitter’s Club book cover, the title font evoking wholesome teen magazines from the 1980s. But look closer: in her hands, she holds a bright pink urn, while the title above her reads: “I’m Glad My Mom Died”.

McCurdy, ...