Book Review: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good memoir, very sad, and for some reason I thought it would be funny, but it is not.

It goes over a few different topics, since the writer is a mixed race kid from Korean mom and American dad that grew up in Oregon.

The writer tells her story in a very honest and raw style. She had an intense connection (sometimes good, sometimes not so good) with her mom, who ends up getting sick with cancer and passing away when she is in her mid 20s. She describes how she tried to tend to her mom during her illness and restore her relationship with her, after going through a tumultuous dynamic during her teen years. not measuring up to her Mom’s expectations as she pursued an artistic career in music. She describes in detail the last few months of her mom and how she tried to make all the Korean food her mom liked and at the same time, trying to learn the recipes how her mom would make them. Plus the process right after her mom passes away, going through her clothes to pick what she will wear when they take her body to be cremated, organizing her things, cleaning the house, and her dad moving to a different country and starting his new chapter in life, all of this things sound like a lot to process. It is not a light book.

It also displays some identity struggles when she questions if she is Korean enough, as she knows some vocabulary but not enough to have a full on conversation in Korean. I wish I knew more about Korean food, because it’s the main connector during the story, and I only recognized kimchi.

I also didn’t know the writer has her own band called Japanese Breakfast! Good to know!




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Book Review: It’s Okay to Laugh by Nora McInerny Purmort.

It’s Okay to Laugh by Nora McInerny Purmort

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is about the author’s experience when she experiences 3 close deaths from family members. She has a miscarriage, then her father passes away, and then her husband, and father of her son also dies. Both of them from cancer. Her dad was 65, her husband was 35.

She talks a little bit about her upbringing and previous relationships and how grief is so very hard, but after a while she starts getting out of the fog.

I enjoyed the part towards the end where she meets a co-worker who can get in touch with spirits and even though she wasn’t really expecting it, it seems like she did get a message and this brief moment and conversation carried her through and lifted her up.

This was an audio book and it was narrated by the author. I had seen her ted talk a long time ago.





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Book Review: Everything is Horrible and Wonderful: A tragicomic memoir of genius, heroin, love and loss by Stephanie Wittels Wachs.

Everything is Horrible and Wonderful: A Tragicomic Memoir of Genius, Heroin, Love and Loss by Stephanie Wittels Wachs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A few days ago, my cousin’s son died from a very similar cause as the story on this book.

I have no other reference or know anyone else that has battled with this type of disease, a really tough one and a devastating one for any parent. I found this book because I started searching for ted talks about grief and I found a very good one by a lady called Nora McInerny, where she talks about losing her unborn baby, dad and husband from different illnesses in the last quarter of the same year. Most people don’t want to talk about these rough moments or they may not even have the energy to do it. I found that she has a podcast call Terrible, Thanks for Asking, which talks about the sad realities that people go through when they lose a family member or a closed one. I then found a specific podcast where McInerny interviews this writer and her mom and they talk about what they went through with their brother/son Harris Wittels, who was a famous comedian and writer for shows including Parks & Rec, and how it has impacted their lives in a very raw, very honest way.

I didn’t read the book, but heard the audio version narrated by the writer herself and she is very good at it. This book includes very sad, horrifying moments and also very sweet ones after such immense loss.

May my young cousin rest in peace and may my cousin (his mom) get the strength and comfort to carry on, and all of those battling! 🙏

“let’s stop finding a new witch of the week and burning them at the stake. We are all horrible and wonderful and figuring it out.” Harris Wittels



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