Crying in H-Mart

Grief, Family, and Food

Crying in H-Mart is an account of Michelle Zauner’s relationship with her mother. Zauner, who fronts the band Japanese Breakfast, grew up in Eugene, Oregon with a Korean mom and a white dad. In this intimate memoir, Zauner recounts her mother’s illness and relives memories of her through foods they ate together. It reminded me of my own family in some ways – we memorialize my grandparents by cooking and eating the foods they liked every year. 

I would recommend this book to those who enjoyed Nicole Chung’s All You Can Ever Know for its intimacy and personal writing style, and to anyone who might be working through grief.