A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor--including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother--and how she retook control of her life.

"When Melissa Francis was eight, she won the role of a lifetime: Cassandra Cooper Ingalls, the little girl who was adopted by the Ingalls family on the prime-time soap opera, Little House on the Prairie. Despite her age, she was already a veteran actress, moving from one Hollywood set to the next. But behind the scenes, her success was fueled by the pride, pressure, and sometimes grinding cruelty of her stage mother. While Melissa thrived under pressure,...

Amid the deprivation and despair of the Great Depression, Shirley Temple radiated optimism and plucky good cheer that lifted the spirits of millions and shaped their collective character for generations to come. John F. Kasson shows how the most famous, adored, imitated and commodified child in the world astonished movie goers, created a new international culture of celebrity and revolutionized the role of children as consumers.