I’ve only really heard about Jennette McCurdy in the last few years—I wasn’t into the Nickelodeon teen shows as a teen—and I’m in utter awe of her strength. Her story of emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her own mother is infuriating. Add in the gross Hollywood grooming and anorexia, bulimia, anxiety, OCD, and it’s a miracle she’s come out of the other side of teen stardom in tact.

I’m Glad My Mom Died is a sad and funny memoir about being manipulated into following someone else’s dreams and enduring the mental and emotional consequences alone.