The Real Story Behind Jennette McCurdy’s Novel “Half His Age.”

Please note: this episode contains explicit descriptions of sex. Jennette McCurdy pretty much grew up in front of an audience. In her role on the Nickelodeon show “iCarly,” she seemed like a bubbly, happy teenager. Behind the scenes, though, she was struggling. In her 2022 memoir, “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” McCurdy described her toxic and often abusive relationship with her mother, her struggles with depression and disordered eating, and the painful work she did to build herself back up. The book was a New York Times bestseller for over 80 weeks. McCurdy has a new book out, and this time, she’s written a novel. “Half His Age” tells the story of an intimate relationship between a 17-year-old girl named Waldo and her 40-year-old teacher, Mr. Korgy. This week on “Modern Love,” McCurdy explains how some of her own experiences inspired the story in “Half His Age,” and how writing the book allowed her to work through her rage, understand her desire and reclaim her power.

You can listen to The Real Story Behind Jennette McCurdy’s Novel “Half His Age.” online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Real Story Behind Jennette McCurdy’s Novel “Half His Age.” is an episode from Modern Love by The New York Times.

This episode is 00:43:56 long.

This episode was published on Feb 4, 2026.

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