In I’m Glad My Mom Died, the new memoir from former teen actress Jennette McCurdy, she details the struggles she has been through and how, after coming to terms the abuse she suffered, she has come through the other side healthy and ready to move on.  An emotionally and physically abusive relationship with her mother, who pushed her into acting as a young child, taught her to become anorexic as a way to delay puberty, and showered her into her mid-teens, ended when her mother died of cancer. But the repercussions from those actions, which, at the time, McCurdy did not recognize as abuse, impacted the next decade of her life, leading to bulimia, alcoholism, and unhealthy relationships with men.

McCurdy, who came to fame starring in children’s shows on Nickelodeon like iCarly and Sam & Cat, pulls no punches in this memoir.  She had previously turned down hush money from Nickelodeon, so she was able to talk about the uncomfortable feelings she had when dealing with “the creator” aka Dan Schneider, who had seen his teen show kingdom shut down over accusations of inappropriate behavior.  She was oblivious to her mother’s abuse, yet was able to recount it in a way that made it obvious to outsiders.  That she was managed to survive it all and, hopefully, continue to thrive moving forward, is a bit of a miracle.