Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

“It felt like the world had divided into two different types of people, those who had felt pain and those who had yet to.”

Crying in H Mart is a memoir that dives into the realities of grief, the power of traditional cuisine, and the challenges of growing up between two worlds/identities.

As someone who has also lost a parent quickly to cancer, I can relate to a lot of her descriptions of grief in the book. The way she shared her feelings felt raw and also unique as she dared to write some of the things we don’t often say out loud.

Another key element of this book is food. Food can bring us together or push us apart, it can remind us of home or make us homesick, and cooking can be an act of healing and care. Throughout the book, food is a huge theme symbolism connection and also loss.

She cooks for her family to comfort them, she cooks for herself to try and bring herself closer to her mom, and she cooks for her mom as an act of care to try and relate to her and give her what she needs in a difficult time.

H Mart is an asian supermarket (we have them here in Vancouver as well) and Crying in H Mart is such a concise title that pulls the whole book together.

I love memoirs and I appreciated this one immensely. ❤️