Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Favorite Quote

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

The Book in One Sentence

Crying in H Mart is a beautiful memoir shedding light on the complex landscape of feelings that comes not just with growing up Asian-American but also with losing your stern but loving mother to cancer at a young age, following the before and after of indie rock singer Michelle Zauner’s life around her mother’s passing.

Why should you read it?

The beauty of this memoir lies in the universality of Zauner’s challenges that hides beneath her very specific experience of the Korean-American culture clash. Yes, if you’re of mixed Asian descent or a frequent traverser between the Western and Eastern world, you’ll get particularly much out of this book. But even if not, we can all lose loved ones too early. We all know what it’s like to grow estranged from someone we used to love. And we all know how hard it can be to keep yourself together when the world seems to be falling apart around you. What an amazing book and deserved winner of Goodreads’ Best Memoir & Autobiography Award for 2021.

Key Takeaways

1. You’ll never regret dropping everything and rushing to your loved ones’ side in an emergency.
2. The less time we have, the more attentive we become, and even stressful periods can become wonderful memories.
3. Even when special people are no longer around, we can still nurture our connection with them.