The writer talks to Patrick Sproull most her provocative new memoir, I'grand Glad My Mom Died – an illuminating breakdown of generational trauma and the bleak effects of child stardom

If Jennette McCurdy had whatsoever misgivings about the title of her memoir, they've surely evaporated in the face up of her success. I'm Glad My Mom Died was published in August to unprecedented media attention and a chorus of acclaim from readers and critics akin. Information technology swiftly topped the New York Times bestseller charts in its showtime week and information technology is, unquestionably, the book of the yr.

Information technology's piece of cake to see why. McCurdy has crafted an absolutely searing deconstruction of her own child stardom and abuse at the hands of her mother, Debra, tempering its darkest moments with her rich, mordant sense of humor. We once knew her as a regular cast fellow member on iCarly and now nosotros've become acquainted with the real Jennette McCurdy, who merely and then happens to be a masterful writer.

McCurdy places you squarely in the shoes of her younger cocky as she was forced to pursue Debra's unfulfilled dream of fame. It's an illuminating breakup of generational trauma and the commodification of women and girls, and it frequently makes for uncomfortable reading. However despite some of its bleakest details having been luridly regurgitated across social media, McCurdy's story bears witnessing in full.

The writer takes every titillating notion well-nigh stage mothers and teen idolatry and floods it with a dose of cold, hard reality. There are passages in I'm Glad My Mom Died that experience similar they could exist ripped wholesale from the days of Judy Garland and MGM child stars. Lena Dunham called it an "important cultural document" and it's hard non to agree. I'm Glad My Mom Died volition probable go down every bit a seminal exposé of 21st-century  Hollywood.

Have you lot enjoyed doing press for I'm Glad My Mom Died , given the field of study affair?

Jennette McCurdy: I take enjoyed it. Information technology's been totally unlike from my experience with the press when I was younger. I think it starts with the fact that I'm talking well-nigh something I want to be talking about. I believe in the book, I want to be having the conversations that the book provokes whereas earlier, press felt, for me, very much similar I'thousand hawking something that I don't believe in. I felt very phoney doing press years ago. This time, I feel like I'm able to bear witness upwards equally myself talking well-nigh things that I actually want to talk about with people who have been really insightful and thoughtful and respectful. I've even fabricated a few friends from the people that I've spoken with – that was a very unexpected, delightful surprise.

Do y'all feel like y'all have a ameliorate relationship with your celebrity now?

Jennette McCurdy: Yes, for sure. I remember information technology was really hard to be famous for a thing that I felt so aback of. It was really difficult to exist doing work that I didn't feel proud of and so too being constantly externally validated for that felt ultimately really unfulfilling. To feel validated and received for something that really means something to me, that I'm proud of, feels entirely different, and I would encourage it.

I wanted to ask you lot about the book and its wider impact. Do yous experience like the volume has played any part in this shift we're seeing where we're reassessing female person celebrities from the 00s and their experiences of misogyny? There's everything with Britney Spears, Janet Jackson and Lindsay Lohan. Information technology feels like we're learning the truth behind them and this book falls into that.

Jennette McCurdy: If my volume has at all contributed to those conversations, I call back that's a actually wonderful thing. I retrieve those conversations are long overdue. I think there are things that are being talked nigh at present that I couldn't even imagine beingness talked near ten or fifty-fifty five years ago. It's really wonderful to see and I recollect volition lead to some expert long-term change.

I'm always a trivial concerned and a little sceptical when things are also topical. A couple of years ago when it was too 'rah, rah, women! Woo hoo!' I was like, oooh, this isn't going to go anywhere good, it'south besides popularised, the pendulum is going to swing. Simply I recall with fourth dimension that 'rah, rah, women!' movement has settled into a nice place where it feels like there's sustainable growth happening. Distressing, I sound like a CEO.

You've spoken in the past about how you chose the title of the book considering it's deliberately bold only packs a lot of nuance underneath information technology, it's not provocative for the sake of it. Do you e'er detect people potentially get caught upwards in the title and maybe don't appoint with that deeper significant?

Jennette McCurdy: I think if somebody didn't choose to get the volume because of the championship, that's fine, they're probably not the right audience for information technology. I call up the people who option upwardly the book are people who want to have nuanced conversations, who want to ask good questions and who accept a certain marvel to them. If somebody's just like, 'that's preposterous!' then OK, she can just broil her cookies or whatever and not get my book, that's fine. I don't believe in being provocative only for the sake of existence provocative if it's non really supported past what's being said, but I do experience that'southward what I did. Anybody who may exist sceptical but got the volume regardless, I think may empathise why by the end of the book.

Playing off that, how have you lot felt about a lot of the deep personal history in this volume being condensed into headlines and clickbait?

Jennette McCurdy: A week before the book came out, I would have had a very different answer. I went to sleep crying two nights that week merely thinking that I put my soul into this book and to feel information technology being reduced to clickbaity headlines was devastating to me, bluntly. Then I saw the chat really inverse in one case the book came out and people had a gamble to read it. My publicist very kindly reminded me of that during the calendar week before publication because I was going, 'oh my god, is this all the takeaway is going to be? Is nobody going to intendance virtually what I feel is of import about the volume?' And they were like, 'expect till people read information technology, wait a couple of days and let me know if you lot feel the aforementioned.' I've been actually satisfied with the response. I wish I could go dorsum and tell that version of myself that the loss of sleep and crying over Bagel Bites was unnecessary.

Take you had a private response from whatsoever other teen stars of your generation? Has it resonated with anyone who was in the same position every bit you?

Jennette McCurdy: Honestly, an outpouring. I've been hearing a lot from people who were in the public centre when they were younger and it'due south wonderful to hear from them as unfortunate as information technology is that they may have endured similar circumstances. I'm grateful that they're connecting with information technology and it'due south been a lot of absurd people.

"I don't believe in existence provocative simply for the sake of being provocative if it'due south not actually supported by what's beingness said. Simply I practice feel that's what I did" – Jennette McCurdy

What's been your family's response to the success of the book?

Jennette McCurdy: I don't know if everyone expected… this . I accept iii older brothers and I saw them at a family unit get-together the week that it came out and debuted at number one. Everybody was very surprised and excited and supportive and they've stayed that manner. Two of my three brothers have read it, the other has not and I totally empathize why.

These are people who understand my viewpoint on my mom equally intimately as anybody. I won't speak for them, but I don't think it's a reach to say that nosotros all experience similarly virtually our mom and have all had our ain actually complicated experiences and human relationship. It was nice earlier the book came out and while I was writing the book to be able to have those conversations with my brothers and to be able to exercise some of that processing together. Since the volume came out it's been actually lovely to have their support in the results of it.

What did they call up of the title?

Jennette McCurdy: They laughed when I told them the title. My oldest brother Marcus told me that my grandma wasn't happy with the title but that's to be expected. Of grade, grandma's non gonna like it.

I believe you're writing a novel. Have you enjoyed writing fiction?

Jennette McCurdy: Aye! Before the memoir I wrote screenplays, I wrote plays, I wrote pilots, I wrote short films, I wrote a million things that will never see the calorie-free of day. All of those were fiction and I always experience it'southward important for me to be exploring something that'south deeply personal to me thematically, regardless of any the story is. I feel like the subject matter has to be really, deeply bothersome or upsetting or inherent or compelling to me. So that's been the throughline for everything that I've written.

I tried my hand at a couple of novels throughout the years that I got to the halfway point of and then left for the next creative whim. But it'southward been really lovely to be able to explore a discipline matter that matters so deeply to me without it being related to my life.

Are at that place any other writing forms you'd like to explore later on the memoir and the novel, similar screenwriting or essay writing?

Jennette McCurdy: Both. I'one thousand actually writing a collection of essays. I got pretty deep into it and at present I'm focusing primarily on the novel, simply I wait that I'll get back into the essays at some point. I wrote some essays for The Wall Street Journal and The Huffington Postal service and then information technology was somewhat familiar to me, then it's dainty to be returning to that form. I'm also working on some screenwriting. I just finished the beginning draft of a screenplay a couple of months ago that I need to become back to. I've been procrastinating with my screenplay so thank you lot for asking considering now you've reminded me that I need to get back into it.

Jennette McCurdy's I'1000 Glad My Mom Died is available from Simon & Schuster now.