I'm Glad My Mom Died

What a terribly sad book.

I read this as a mom and as a daughter, and just really really felt for Jennette McCurdy. The earlier stuff, when she's 6 and her mom is pushing her into acting, was so heartbreaking. I just saw a little girl that desperately wanted to be loved by her mom, desperately wanted to connect and be comforted and see her mom be a warm, stable, happy person. Something that that mom could not and would not ever be. The mom definitely had a bunch of unaddressed mental health issues. Watching McCurdy live within that universe of mental illness - and her mom definitely created an entire microcosm of crazy, in a household where everyone bent to her whims, basically - oof.

Later in the book, as McCurdy makes tentative steps towards leaving that little cosmos, a therapist gently notes that what McCurdy's mom did was abusive. McCurdy's intense reaction shows us just how powerful these blind spots can be - when you grow up in crazy, it can take a LONG time to free yourself of it. Indeed, I kinda wanted more catharsis - I wanted to see McCurdy evolve and grow and heal more. I guess the book itself is a testament to her progress, but I was left pretty unsatisfied with the ending. Please tell me how your life eventually did get better, you poor girl!!