“I’m Glad My Mom Died” is a memoir written by former actress and singer Jennette McCurdy. It serves as an emotional account of McCurdy’s life as a child actress and singer and all of the distress that came with that life.

From an early age, McCurdy was thrusted into acting largely at the will of her emotionally abusive mother. Her most prominent role was that of Sam Puckette in the Nickelodeon show “iCarly.”

Throughout the book, McCurdy highlights the all-encompassing role that body image and disordered eating played in her life. This was encouraged by her ill mother, Debra. That relationship with her mother underscores most aspects of the book, as McCurdy navigates her life both before and after Debra’s death and deals with the emotional ramifications of her abuse.

McCurdy’s detailing of her relationship with disordered eating was particularly engaging. She goes into visceral detail about the mental processes behind anorexia nervosa and bulimia, detailing how the acting industry damaged her self-perception and caused her to develop these illnesses.

McCurdy’s writing style comes off as simultaneously candid and compelling. Despite the dark tone embraced throughout the book, McCurdy also incorporates some dry humor that helps carry her personality throughout. Her style comes off as intensely personal and vulnerable while also maintaining a sense of growth. In that, her writing also comes off as incredibly relatable as she describes the very intense yet real issues of disordered eating, alcoholism, and abusive relationships.

Personally, McCurdy’s vulnerability helped me cope with some of my own issues. By diving so deep into the things that troubled her life, McCurdy opens those topics up for wider discussion and personal analysis. By following her example of personal reflection, I think, a person can genuinely grow and become a better person.

McCurdy’s “I’m Glad My Mom Died” gets a 10 out of 10.