How a Cozy Family Drama Made This Writer Fall in Love With His Craft

Jinwoo Chong celebrates food, family, & finding love in his cozy novel, I Leave It Up To You. Learn how this project helped him fall in love with writing again.

What if you fell asleep in 2019 and woke up in 2021? That's the reality for Jack Jr., who emerges from a two-year coma to find his life unrecognizable. His job is gone, his apartment is lost, and his partner has moved on. But in his return to his childhood home and his family's struggling restaurant, he begins to rebuild—rekindling relationships, rediscovering love, and redefining what home truly means.

Jinwoo Chong shares the beautiful inspiration behind this poignant and tender slice-of-life novel, which seamlessly blends a swoon-worthy love story with a cozy family drama. We discuss how I Leave It Up to You evolved from a short story, the impact of the pandemic on its themes, and the role of food as both a comfort and a metaphor for resilience.

BONUS BOOK LIST: Don't miss our Captivating Books About Nurses Book List, featuring 28 incredible new and backlist titles celebrating caregivers.

Meet Jinwoo Chong

Jinwoo Chong is the author of Flux, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway and VCU Cabell First Novel awards, and a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice. His work has appeared in The Southern Review, Guernica, The Rumpus, and more. His latest novel, I Leave It Up to You, is now available from Penguin Random House.

Mentioned in this episode:

Today's Show Transcript

NEW BONUS BOOK LIST: 28 Captivating Books About Nurses

Join the March Book Club Chat (Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson)

I Leave It Up to You by Jinwoo Chong

Flux by Jinwoo Chong

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