How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

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Jennette McCurdy on Reclaiming Her Voice

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Feb 18, 2026

Guest

Jennette McCurdy

Jennette McCurdy, actress-turned-writer known for her memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died and novel Half His Age, reflects on a childhood pushed into performance and the hard work of reclaiming autonomy. She discusses her experience with anorexia and bulimia, how writing gave her a voice, setting boundaries in relationships, therapy that helped, and finding steadiness in a long-term partner.

57:06

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ANECDOTE

Abandoning A Novel For The Right Idea

Jennette abandoned a nearly finished novel when a new idea, Half His Age, became irresistible.
She wrote a first draft in 30 days and then returned to revise the earlier project.

insights

INSIGHT

Body Intuition Guides Decisions

Jennette links her ability to follow bodily instincts to recovery from control dynamics.
She argues that listening to the body's intuition leads to better life decisions.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Mother Taught Calorie Restriction

Jennette's disordered eating began at 11 after her mother modelled calorie restriction.
She describes calorie counting as a private bonding ritual that led to anorexia.

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Jennette's Background and Early Career Pressure

01:52 • 2min

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Truthfulness in Writing and Freedom

04:16 • 2min

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Reception of Half His Age

05:52 • 1min

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Mormonism, Guilt and Female Expectations

07:02 • 7min

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Abandoning a Novel to Follow Intuition

14:23 • 5min

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Writing Fiction vs Memoir and Personal Ties

18:54 • 2min

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Portraying Mr Corgi Without Demonising

20:45 • 3min

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Family Dysfunction and Writing for Closure

24:13 • 1min

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Why Failure Reveals Identity

25:22 • 5min

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Genesis of Jennette's Eating Disorder

30:43 • 3min

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Mother's Death and Turning Point to Recovery

33:54 • 4min

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Physical Impact and Exhaustion from Disorders

37:25 • 11sec

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Therapy That Worked: DBT and Schema Therapy

37:36 • 1min

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Finding Value in the Eating Disorder

38:37 • 2min

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Slips, Slides and Learning from Failure

Reconnecting with the Body and Listening to 'No'

44:33 • 4min

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Failures in Relationships and 'Walk Away Wife'

49:01 • 6min

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Inner Child Work and Morning Pages

55:07 • 2min

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Finding a Grounding Partner

56:41 • 1min

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Closing Reflections and Gratitude

• Mentioned in 193 episodes

The artist's way

a spiritual path to higher creativity

Ada Arbós Bo

Julia Cameron

This book presents a comprehensive method for artists to recover their creativity from various blocks such as limiting beliefs, fear, self-sabotage, and other inhibiting forces. It is designed to help individuals discover and develop their artistic potential, whether as writers, painters, poets, or musicians. The book emphasizes the connection between creativity and spirituality, providing step-by-step exercises to nurture creative expression as a consistent part of daily life.

#2440

• Mentioned in 19 episodes

I'm Glad My Mom Died

Jannettte Mcury

In this memoir, Jennette McCurdy recounts her life as a successful child actress on Nickelodeon, her brief career in country music, and the troubled and controlling relationship she had with her mother, Debra, who died from cancer in 2013. The book is divided into two sections, 'Before' and 'After', detailing events before and after her mother's death. McCurdy discusses her struggles with eating disorders, addiction, and the systemic issues of the child star system. The memoir is praised for its raw honesty, dark humor, and McCurdy's unique voice, which makes the book both heartbreaking and engaging.

This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia. Listener discretion advised.

This might be one of the most powerful conversations I’ve ever had on How To Fail. I don’t say that lightly - I’ve had some amazing guests - but there’s something about how Jennette puts the female experience into words that I find truly electrifying.

Raised Mormon in Orange County, Jennette had a difficult, abusive childhood which she chronicled with unflinching honesty in her 2022 memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died - a book that spent more than 90 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

Her new novel, Half His Age, follows 17-year-old Waldo as she embarks on an affair with her 40-year-old creative writing teacher. It’s a startling, powerful story about discomfort, agency and self-determination and it became a Sunday Times Number One bestseller in its first week!

In this episode, we talk about her upbringing, her experience of disordered eating, the writing process and the grounding partner she’s been with for nine years (who I was lucky enough to meet). Plus: setting boundaries, finding your voice, rage, recovery and autonomy.

Recorded in our London studio.

✨ IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Introduction

03:27 Speaking Up and Setting Boundaries

04:15 Reception of 'Half His Age'

07:22 Exploring Mormonism and Guilt

14:36 Failures and Creative Process

30:09 Calorie Restriction Lessons from My Mother

30:58 First Encounter with Anorexia

32:45 The Turning Point: Mother's Death and Recovery

32:58 Struggles with Bulimia

35:41 Therapy and the Road to Recovery

36:47 Understanding the Value of Eating Disorders

38:59 Healing Through Relationships

42:58 Finding My Voice and Inner Peace

💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:

I think oftentimes a woman is perceived as difficult if the person around her can't meet her standards.

It’s time that women start speaking up in any capacity - and not worrying about being 'too much'.

There is nothing more powerful than a woman's intuition. I believe our bodies have inherent knowledge... denying our bodies is nothing but a disservice to a better life path for ourselves.

If you feel resentment, it's time to set a boundary.

🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:

Jennette’s new book Half His Age is available to buy now

Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content

Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/

📚 WANT MORE?

Dolly Alderton – writing personal truth and navigating public scrutiny swap.fm/l/XM98joc3GFEMTsLfkEfR

Matt Haig – mental health and transforming suffering into storytelling swap.fm/l/amHeyBr7x2jg3Isw3JxG

Jameela Jamil – body image, disordered eating and unlearning harmful conditioning swap.fm/l/D0j8oJQ52OwiJu6W3T4o

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