Crying in H Mart

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner is a memoir of losing a parent and how that leads to her teaching her self to cook Korean food as a cultural pathway to her mother.

Growing up Michelle visited her mother's family in Seoul every other year. They stayed with her grandmother, two aunts and cousins. 

Michelle is most well known as the singer of the band Japanese Breakfast. Which, being Korean American, creates questions each time she is interviewed.

When she looked at her life with her mother she noticed that food was used not just as sustenance but as love. Her mom got sick quickly and did not have time to teach Michelle to cook Korean food. 

Michelle took it upon herself to learn. Using the blog Maangchi, she describes delicious food as she processes her loss and her band's growing popularity. 

Zauner has written a memoir that does not shy away from looking at herself and her family truthfully. She tells the good and bad without glossing over. This is a beautiful book of love, food and grief. 

Zauner, Michelle. (2021). Crying in H Mart. New York: Knopf.