Jasper

“Recovery so far is, in some ways, as difficult as the bulimic/alcohol-ridden years, but difficult in a different way because I'm facing my issues for the first time instead of burying them with eating disorders and substances. I'm processing not only the grief of my mom's death, but the grief of a childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood that I feel I had never truly been able to live for myself. It's difficult, but it's the kind of difficult I have pride in.”
― Jennette McCurdy, I'm Glad My Mom Died

“She took care of me and my brothers, I’m sure that was really hard for her.’

‘That was her job.’

I feel interrogated, like I can’t say the right thing. I speed up, trying to explain myself.

‘Well, but I mean this was different from most parents.’ Shit. I hated how that came out.

‘How so?’

I pause to compose myself. Laura won’t rattle me. I speak in an even, measured tone.

‘She sacrificed everything for me. She constantly went without so she could take care of me. She put me first, ahead of herself.’

‘Hmm. And do you think that’s healthy?’

What kind of fresh hell is this? What is this impossible-to-ace quiz? I have no idea how I’m supposed to be answering to make Mom look good.”
― Jennette McCurdy, I'm Glad My Mom Died

“A little girl shouldn’t have to worry about her entire family,’ Grandpa says to me one afternoon….

‘What?’ I ask, not because I didn’t hear what he said, but because I’m confused. Of course a little girl should worry about her entire family. That’s what little girls do.

‘I just…’ He steps closer to me. ‘I just think…you deserve to be a kid.”
― Jennette McCurdy, I'm Glad My Mom Died

“And if my entire life and point of view and identity have been built on a false foundation, confronting that false foundation would mean destroying it and rebuilding a new foundation from the ground up.”
― Jennette McCurdy, I'm Glad My Mom Died