Crying in H Mart

A Memoir

By: Michelle Zauner

Narrated by: Michelle Zauner

From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, and author of the viral 2018 New Yorker essay that shares the title of this book, an unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity.

In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.

Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner's voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.

Beautifully written and read.

Heartbreakingly beautiful. As a person who lost a parent at a young age to cancer, I really connected with Michelle's experience.

Perfect

I know I did everything I needed to do yesterday, but I definitely wasn’t present, because this book consumed my world. Michelle takes you on a journey of her life and you will be captivated by the sights, smells, and poignant story she weaves. Lovely story and lovely Umma.

A beautiful book about death, grief, and food

An amazing book. There’s so much I could say about it, and yet, I also find myself lost for words. The story is incredibly personal, sometimes uncomfortably so, and yet, it is written in a way where I can see myself, or my experiences mirrored in a way. There are also things in this book I will never experience… the story of a child who feels caught between 2 worlds… We as humans desire fullness. To know and to be known.

Michelle has written a book that fulfills this human desire. A story shared that also feels like it listens to you as well.

My favorite book this year!

A beautiful love letter to a mother through food and culture.
I love this book so much. what a privilege to listen to it in the authors own voice! i cried like a baby and called my mom right after.

wow. just wow

I LOVED this book. My mother just recently passed away, and I feel like this book has helped me with grieving in some ways. I also liked learning about Korean culture. Overall, this book is a 10/10