Jennette McCurdy: Eating Disorders, Child Acting and her book “I’m Glad My Mom Died”

In their Quitters Podcast Season 2 premiere episode, Julie Bowen and Chad Sanders are joined by quitting extraordinaire Jennette McCurdy. Together they dissect Jennette’s unique journey growing up as a child star, dealing with two eating disorders and having a complicated relationship with an abusive parent. They also dive into her extraordinary book I'm Glad My Mom Died and how Jennette's life has changed after her mothers death.
-
00:00 - Introduction
04:21 - Jennette’s mother was a looming figure in her life
11:50 - Jennette talks about living with an eating disorder
44:00 - Exploring Jennette’s quits and values based recovery
55:00 - Jennette opens up about her new identity as an author and how people are treating her differently
-
This episode of Quitters is brought to you by Primal Kitchen. Find Primal Kitchen in your local grocery store or visit www.Primalkitchen.com/quitters to get 20% off your order and get grilling!
Mattress-in-a-box companies are a dime a dozen. New ones pop up every week and many of them don’t last. Saatva is different… in every way. And right now, get $200 off your purchase of $1,000 or more at www.Saatva.com/quitters.

[@raepan2797]

"She lost a tooth she really committed" I had to put the book down when I read that part cause I felt so bitter that she did bulimia better than me lmfao, im a few months into recovery now.

[@liseyboop]

thank you for sharing that vulnerability!! glad for your recovery ❤️ wish you the best

[@suzienothing9855]

I’m late but wanted to say that not even 10 minutes in it’s already clear to me that this might be the best interview with Jennette I have seen so far! I think i’ve watched them all after this one. You guys reallllly get it and show that you’ve read every part of the book and understand where she comes from. Love your questions and thoughtfulness!

[@ScottCleve33]

After reading the book I find that Jennette used her bulimia not only to keep her weight down but also as a coping mechanism. She seemed to not only use it to purge her stomach or food but also to purge herself of bad feeling or stress. She speaks at one point about how she was on set and having, what I can only describe as, a panic attack. She goes to her dressing room and then began forcing herself to vomit time and time again all without any suggestion that she had eaten anything.

[@TheElectricitychick]

eating disorders ate never just about looks, weight, or food. they're about control and are super common with ppl with ocd and anxiety

[@Anna133199]

@@TheElectricitychick "eating disorders ate never just about looks, weight, or food." I agree with this part, but I'd say the control thing is overused. It's not always necessarily about control, it can also be about not wanting to feel certain feelings, about emotion regulation.

[@TheElectricitychick]

@@Anna133199 I agree

[@madisonbrownlee6971]

that’s common with bulimia

[@Aelffwynn]

@TheBostonYanks Dan Schneider, is that you? You sound creepy and obsessed.

[@qtkittn]

Love to see Julie Bowen have this conversation with Jennette McCurdy 🥺💜

[@ayannacharity]

These were really interesting, unique questions - thank you! Almost every interview thus far has been the exact same “Tell me about Nickelodeon” “How have people responded to the title?” Which Jennette has already stated multiple times is not even the true point of the book.

[@beckagrace7499]

Have you watched her on Whitney cummings? Before this one Cummings interview was the best!

[@bamitslanis]

wow such a well studied, thoughtful interview. julie does such a great job at showing genuine interest and relatability and chad brings the sort of calm comforting yet understanding aspect that ties everything together so well. i hope with all the press jennette has been doing, that she felt validated and authentic here. i just finished reading her book at work today and it was so powerful, im glad i got to extend the book a little more by watching this.

[@seangowans8975]

oh my god that "how did you not end up a drug addict?" hit different tho

[@ShipFantastic]

Due to my childhood I've been asked this question multiple times and I have different emotions about it each time, 😅

[@alisong826]

I'm a visual person, so it helps me focus when the pod has video. Julie, no need to worry about your facial expressions; it adds to the authenticity; a gentle encourager/reminder that receiving medical care isn't going to a 'nut house,' which has [I am the problem] connotations thanks to society. Going to a hospital for treatment and coming out the other side shows resilience rather than weakness. Our mothers were really into ED's and that is just one reason i'm glad to have a therapist!

[@Alchemy8789]

Love these questions!!! That they asked!!! Great episode!!

[@JP-ve7or]

This was really well done! A very well balanced back and forth (other podcasts I've seen with her were mostly just the host talking about her own trauma for an hour.) I like how relaxed and open everyone was and how there were things here beyond what was in the book.

[@korribier-lo3nm]

I love it! I’ve been a fan of hers for so long. Love her story

Awesome podcast! Can’t wait to watch it grow

[@lorrainem.swartzentruber3077]

I could listen to these three all day!

[@XeaRae]

My favorite podcast with Jennette! Such great questions.

[@korribier-lo3nm]

Love her so much! Love that she is telling her story

[@TEAtimesTHREEE]

Jeanette is so eloquent. I just love listening to her speak! It's very obvious how much therapy she has had (I say this as someone who has been on their own therapy journey), and I'm amazed at her knowledge and maturity. I did a full year of DBT myself and really feel that it benefited my life. I was diagnosed with BPD, and it really warmed my heart to hear Jeanette even mention that diagnosis, let alone maintain that she has empathy for anyone going through that. I'll be looking forward to seeing what Jeanette creates next 💗. I'm so grateful to her for being this open and honest and helping so many other people with trauma to understand themselves as they see their own stories in Jeanette's. Her book is a gift to the world - a message that so many needed to hear. Love you all - anyone who has experienced narcissistic abuse or tried to use maladaptive coping mechanisms to gain control of your life - I'm so proud of you just for making it to today. You're strong. You're resilient. Thank you for being here. ❤

[@douglasbreeden5078]

Totally agree, Jennette is a great writer.

[@kayeeeeeeeeeee]

This one's chilling and comforting at the same time. I'm definitely gonna read that book 👌

[@seangowans8975]

dude i haven't read shit in like 8 years/since i was in school --i have adhd if that plays a role-- and i'd highly suggest this book

[@seangowans8975]

@TheBostonYanks okay, while i respect the thought process behind your response... my actual point must not have been clear (my bad lol). you don't deserve money from this. plain and simple. in fact, if i'm not going to pay the original author for this book, i might as well not pay at all and just subscribe to piracy- which i only do in very specific cases- but that is besides the point. abuse is besides the point. anyone and everyones opinion is besides the point. and tbh, while there is more i could say, this is about you not deserving monetary gain

[@seangowans8975]

@TheBostonYanks you clearly don’t get it, and I don’t think you’re capable of it. & That’s okay.

[@seangowans8975]

@TheBostonYanks I mean it’s not yours. That’s all.

[@seangowans8975]

@TheBostonYanks make your own book. Sell it.

[@heartlights]

i legit can't tell whether Jennette is just so mature and insightful that she insists on parsing past traumas by not going into the inherently disturbing elements of her iCarly experience at mention of things like "butter sock" or whether it just hasn't dawned on her yet that that was also abusive and exploitative.

[@ScottCleve33]

She's mentioned in the past that the focus of this book is her relationship with her mother.

[@Aelffwynn]

Read the book. She talks about it a lot.

[@mattcooper8010]

Sometimes medication doesn’t work for you I’m glad she found something that works for her

[@Brooklyn99142]

I’m glad she’s happy I’ve seen in other interviews she doesn’t mind if people go back and watch iCarly and she does have a glass of wine once a month

[@chrisvineis740]

Big ol typo in the thumbnail btw. One N

[@heartlights]

has julie's mom seen the Stella sketches?

[@user-pp8cf7uz1l]

Você está melhor?

[@ClearConscience.]

Any one with an eating disorder - some mums are so cruel when they feed their babies - they ram the bottle in and hurry the feed along , they are very agitated during feeding and that obviously distresses the baby - i really think this cruelty needs to be recognised 😢

[@luckyg.7905]

Julie is shocked Jeannette buys her own clothes and dresses herself? Hahaha that was so funny

[@JP-ve7or]

I'm guessing because most celebs hire people to pick out their press tour outfits for them? Not sure. Also I read the book and there were some mentions of clothes Jennette had to wear to events because they were approved by Nickelodeon, and also a few wry remarks about how she has trouble dressing herself. So maybe it was just like that.

[@melaninstar2002]

Hey💙💜💚

[@vailaualotoaniu8007]

The title is spelt wrong

[@jamesbridges627]

I always wondered if JB had an eating disorder

[@user-pp8cf7uz1l]

Você gostou das músicas que eu fiz de violão?

[@hughjoyner56]

Hi this is Berryhill again I know you can do it if you want please don’t curse cause I love to watch your videos like me they don’t wanna test coming curse I mean curse

[@Anonymouse428]

You spelled her name wrong

[@HaliaAudiolibros]

Always asking about bien a mom 😫🙄😑