Jennette McCurdy on the Power of Finally Letting Yourself Be Angry

A photo of Nikki Ogunnaike with an inset photo of Jennette McCurdy and text reading Money. Power. Style. Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike

(Image credit: Courtesty of Victoria Stevens)

Jennette McCurdy became a celebrated author with her 2022 memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died. Ask how she went from feeling powerless as a child actor to taking control of her life and work, and she’ll tell you her own rage helped her get there.

“I think any decision that I've made in my life that has put my life on a significantly better path has been a decision made from a place of rage," the 33-year-old tells Marie Claire editor-in-chief Nikki Ogunnaike on the latest episode of "Nice Talk."

"Rage is the reason that I was able to overcome an eating disorder," she continues. "Rage is the reason that I'm in a healthy and loving relationship of nine years. Rage is the reason that I quit acting and started writing."

Of course, everyone experiences rage differently—different reasons, different scales, different frequencies—but, as McCurdy explains it, anyone can benefit from recognizing when they feel anger and exploring what it might mean.

"If we can only touch base with our anger and sit back and go, 'What is the information it's giving? What am I angry about that can lead us to make better life choices moving forward?' she says. "It might be jarring. It might be anger toward the relationship you're in. It might be anger toward the career you're in. It might be anger toward your best friend, who you've outgrown. That anger is trying to tell you something really, really, really important, and so suppressing it is only going to keep you on a disingenuous path."

The cover of Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy showing a closeup of a mouth sucking on a finger

McCurdy released her second book—and first novel—Half His Age in January, and, as she puts it, “rage is a huge theme” throughout. The story follows Waldo, a 17-year-old girl, who enters a sexual relationship with her teacher—and it aims to leave readers a little disoriented and unsure of what to think.

"I really wanted the reader to be uncomfortable and to just feel because, ultimately, what you're supposed to feel is neither here nor there," the writer says.

She adds that there was "a lot of unprocessed anger about situations from my past that I think was fueling this process and the writing of this book."

McCurdy was in "a significant age gap relationship" when she was 18, but she warns that "to project me onto it too much—which I'm aware people will do—I think would be a complete misread."

She goes on, "Waldo really does deserve to be seen as her own character, because she is that. But I do think that unprocessed rage was the emotional charge that got this book done."

For more from McCurdy—including about her style evolution and the expensive purchase she made after the success of her memoir—check out this week’s installment of "Nice Talk". The episode is available everywhere you listen to podcasts.

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Lia Beck is a writer living in Brooklyn, NY, who covers entertainment, celebrity, and lifestyle. The former celebrity news editor at Bustle, she has also written for Refinery29, Hello Giggles, Cosmopolitan, PEOPLE, Entertainment Weekly, and more.