The control that Jennette's mother had over Jennette was quite shocking and remarkable. Mom wanted to be an actress, failed, so forced Jennette to be an actress. Jennette's entire world was centered around her mother; what her mother wanted; what her mother wanted her to do. She was only six years old when she was forced to go to auditions. Her strengths were that she could cry on cue and she could memorize her lines very easily and quickly. Since Jennette was small in stature, she looked younger than she was. This worked to her advantage because she could get roles playing young girls at an older age and be more experienced on set. When she started to develop budding breasts as a preteen (10 or so), mom taught her how to calorie count. Mom started Jennette on the path of anorexia as a preteen. Eventually anorexia turned into binge eating, which turned into years of severe bulimia.
Jennette's mother controlled her so completely that she was still wiping Jennette's butt after she had a BM when she was 10 years old. She was showering Jennette and giving her vaginal, rectum, and breast checks until she was 16 years old! Sometimes mom made Jennette shower with her younger brother so mom could save time with her showering process. Jennette's mom was more than the typical "stage mom". She was over-the-top on every set, every meeting, every audition. I can't believe that people let her get away with it. Jennette really didn't know life could be another way, so she just went with it. She felt the need to do everything she was told so she could earn mom's love.
Jennette's mom was diagnosed with cancer when Jennette was young, but she fought it and went into remission. Mom used her cancer story to gain sympathy at every turn. When mom's cancer returned, Jennette was devastated. What was her life without her mother? This co-dependent relationship about destroyed Jennette. Not only did she have a severe eating disorder, but she ended up with a severe drinking problem. She was on two hit shows (iCarly and Sam & Cat) on Nickelodeon, but she didn't respect her character (they were silly shows) and hated acting. Needless to say, her relationships with men were not healthy. Ironically, her closest friend ended up being her co-star on iCarly (Miranda Cosgrove).
Jennette wasn't truly able to live her life until her mother died of cancer. She spent years in therapy (finally) to work through the bulimia, addiction issues, self-worth issues. It took strength and courage to find her true self. Quitting acting also helped. I listened to this on audiobook, narrated by Jennette herself. It's a disturbing story and I would guess that Jennette will always struggle in some respect as a result of her childhood trauma.
Wendy's Rating: ****
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