Trauma memoir puts spotlight on mums turning daughters into child stars

In her memoir, Jennette McCurdy recalls her traumatic years as a child star in shows such as iCarly and Sam and Cat. Photograph: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Childhood stardom and the spectre of the “stage mom” are the focus of a US summer publishing sensation that – in short, punchy sentences delivered with a high level of self-perception – could transform the trauma memoir business.

Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died has sold around 200,000 copies since its release less than two weeks ago, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. It has also triggered a wave of fan activism and propelled the author to a different kind of fame from the one she inhabited in Nickelodeon’s iCarly and then its spin-off, Sam and Cat, which also starred Ariana Grande.