Rob

I read I'm Glad My Mom Is Dead right after reading Wil Wheaton's Still Just A Geek. I don't suggest that. Wil's book destroyed me. Jennette's left me sobbing on the bus during my commutes.

As a child of a narcissistic mother, this hit closer to home than I first thought it would. Trying to be good enough to be loved to that final realization that you aren't the problem, her story could have been mine (minus working on a hit TV show). Her prose, while perfunctory, tells of the anger, heartbreak, and resilience that healing adults should all strive to have.

I first read HGTTG in junior high and fell in love with not only its sense of humor but the world as well. Arthur just wants a highway bypass not to go where it's supposed to go, Zaphod wants to not have to do anything, Trillian is just cool, Ford really knows where his towel is, and a bowl of petunias is wondering how in the hell it got into this mess ... again.

This series is one of the ones I go back to as a comfort and nostalgia read. Also, it helps if you read it in Stephen Fry's voice.

The opening chapter is what did me in. Written in first person and opening with the main character wanting to murder a child, I couldn't do it.

The opening chapter is what did me in. Written in first person and opening with the main character wanting to murder a child, I couldn't do it.

I came to Jenny's unique life via Jennette McCurdy. It was suggested to me as a next read, and after hearing a sample, I was in.

Jenny's writing is like that of a friend who you can't wait to catch up with, and when you finally do, you're both shocked and tickled about her comings and goings. Maybe it was her ... less than conventional life, love of odd taxidermied animals, or the anxiety that was running both her and my life at the time; I just couldn't stop reading.

Her storytelling is warm, inviting, moving, and deeply unhinged. She is a voice that helped me through some rough times, and I am grateful.