What You’re Looking For
Some are just as heavy, and some are lighter, so I will tell you which is which.
What are we matching? I’m Glad My Mom Died has a few ingredients. A funny, plain voice telling a painful story. A family that looks one way from the outside and another way inside. A narrator who slowly sees her own life more clearly. And a hopeful, but not tidy, ending. Every pick below shares at least one of those, and I’ll say which.
I will keep every pick spoiler free, and I will flag content, because several of these are as dark as McCurdy’s book. If any of them touches something hard for you, skip it, and look after yourself first.
Why These Eight
Quickly, how I picked. I only chose books where I am sure of the title, the author and the year, and I have grouped them by what they share with McCurdy’s memoir. Three are about hard families, one is about the body, one is about therapy, and three are on the lighter side. That way you can decide what kind of reading you want right now.
I have not included any celebrity gossip books on purpose. McCurdy’s memoir is about her inner life, and the closest matches are books that do the same.
One: Educated
First, Educated by Tara Westover, published in twenty eighteen. It is a memoir of growing up in a strict, isolated family in rural Idaho and slowly finding her way to school and a different life.
Why it fits: it is about learning to trust your own mind after a childhood where a family’s version of reality was the only one allowed. Content note: family violence and injuries. It is more serious in tone, with less humor.
Two: The Glass Castle
Second, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, from two thousand five. A writer remembers a childhood with parents who were creative and charming but also unreliable, which left the children hungry and unsafe.
Why it fits: love and neglect sit side by side, and the narrator keeps loving her parents anyway. Content note: poverty, neglect and some violence. A good pick if you want another book where a child tries to take care of her parents.
Three: Wild Game
Third, Wild Game by Adrienne Brodeur, published in twenty nineteen. The subtitle is My Mother, Her Lover, and Me. It is about a teenage girl who becomes her mother’s confidante and helper in an affair.
Why it fits: it is about a child being pulled into a parent’s world until the parent’s needs come first. Content note: an affair and a parent’s drinking. It reads quickly.
Four: Hunger
Fourth, Hunger by Roxane Gay, from twenty seventeen. The subtitle is A Memoir of My Body. It is a frank book about her body, eating and living in a world that judges bodies.
Why it fits: if the eating disorder chapters stayed with you, this book looks at food and the body in a very different way. Content note: sexual violence is described, and the book is emotionally heavy. Please read it only when you feel ready.
Five: Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Fifth, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb, published in twenty nineteen. A therapist writes about her patients and about going to therapy herself.
Why it fits: McCurdy’s later chapters are about therapy and slow change, and this book shows therapy from both sides of the room. It is also funny. Content note: serious illness and grief come up. It is a good, gentler choice.
Six: Born a Crime
Sixth, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, from twenty sixteen. He grows up in South Africa during and after apartheid, raised by a determined, funny and devout mother.
Why it fits: it is also a funny memoir about a complicated mother, with a very different relationship. Content note: domestic violence is in the later chapters. A strong pick if you want warmth with your hard truths.
Seven: Bossypants
Seventh, Bossypants by Tina Fey, from twenty eleven. It is a light, quick memoir about growing up, working in comedy and juggling a career with family.
Why it fits: if you want a funny memoir about working in television with none of the weight, this is it. It’s a palate cleanser, not a match in tone.
Eight: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Eighth, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling, also from twenty eleven. It is a collection of funny essays about friendship, early jobs and ambition.
Why it fits: it is another pick for readers who want a laugh after a heavy read. Content note: very light. It is the least like McCurdy’s book, which is the point.
A Novel for the Eating Disorder Theme
If you would like a novel on this theme, there is Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, from two thousand nine. It is a young adult novel about a teenage girl with anorexia. Content note: this is very intense and very specific, so I only suggest it if you are in a steady place. For many readers, one heavy book on this topic is enough for a while, and that is fine.
If You Want More From McCurdy
If you liked her voice, the book’s About the Author page mentions that she hosts a podcast called Empty Inside, and that I’m Glad My Mom Died began as a one woman show. I have not listened to the podcast, so I cannot review it. That information comes from the ebook, as of the twenty twenty two edition.
A Suggested Reading Order
If you want a plan, here is one. Right after a book as heavy as this one, many readers want something warm, so try Born a Crime or Bossypants first. Once you are ready for something serious again, move to Educated or The Glass Castle. Save Hunger and Wild Game for when you have the energy to think about them, and keep Maybe You Should Talk to Someone for the moments you want something hopeful.
There is no wrong order, though. The point is to read what suits your mood, and to stop if a book is not good for you right now. Putting a book down is allowed, and that goes for the ones I recommended too.
How to Choose
Here is a quick guide. Want another hard, hopeful memoir about a family? Start with Educated or The Glass Castle. Want a book about being pulled into a parent’s world? Wild Game. Want something about the body and food? Hunger, carefully. Want to understand therapy? Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. Want warmth and humor? Born a Crime. Want light? Bossypants or Mindy Kaling.
I also made a spoiler free review of I’m Glad My Mom Died, and a full summary for anyone who has finished it. Thanks for watching, and subscribe for more recommendations.
