I'm Glad My Mother Died by Jenette McCurdy (audiobook)

 genre: memoir

I have never actually watched an episode of iCarly, but I'd hear it in the background while my kids did so I was curious about this memoir - the title itself grabbed me.  I knew that Jenette's mother must've been challenging but it was hard to learn about how truly twisted the mother-daughter relationship can be.  It made me think about how powerful the parenting relationship is - and how it is possible to completely break our children if we are not careful with our own boundaries and self-awareness.  

I have a lot of respect for Jenette's journey back out of additions and an eating disorder -and I appreciate that she doesn't sugarcoat the process or pretend like she's all fine now.  These kinds of trauma and responses require so much time and effort to heal - and they make having healthy relationships so complicated.  

It was engaging to me throughout, even if sometimes I got so frustrated and bogged down in her choices.  I don't feel like the book was particularly well written but it wasn't bad either.  I didn't love her narrating voice, to be honest.  It was dry and a bit dull.  I even tried to slow it down to see if it would help but it didn't.  I wonder, though, if you grew up hearing her deadpan on iCarly if maybe that would feel differently.

I'm glad she's able to see things clearly now and I wish her the best.