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aubreyrae_m's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
I loved the memoir-style of the book! Reading about someone’s life through this medium was truly eye opening. The ending was a little slow, and I felt like could have reflected back to the author’s challenges at the beginning of the book more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Moderate: Vomit
ash_xoxoxxo's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Xenophobia
4twofive's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
I loved this book, it too me so long to finish it because it was so depressing though. But I did love how she talked about a lot of her culture, her connection to it, and the way food can have a special connection to it as well. Overall I don't think I would read it again because that is how sad it was for me to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
lavishrebellion's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
lifethrumay's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
This book felt like I was being told a story by a dear friend. It held so much raw emotion and didn't hold back in the slightest. It was real. It was also a little funny, and interesting as I was personally not very accustomed to Korean food, so I was fortunate enough to learn some new dishes that I am excited to one day try. I aspire to be as considerate as Michelle's mother, remembering all my loved ones favourite dishes and flavours.
Just overall, an interesting and worthwhile read. Great book to start off the year.
Just overall, an interesting and worthwhile read. Great book to start off the year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction and Alcohol
notnaomie's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, and Car accident
Minor: Addiction, Infidelity, and Abortion
mad_kat's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
A lovely, lovely book.
There’s a lot here I relate to. My mother died of cancer, diagnosed when I was 29. I had rebelled hard when younger, and we were still finding our ways back to each other. I tried to make it up to her. Her sisters there always, helping. Writing a eulogy to capture her (within a word-limit that I *greatly* exceeded—her sister quietly paid the overage fee). The one-second memories of awful things I wish weren’t in my experience.
I haven’t read anything like this book before. It’s a journey through what it is like before, during, and after a complicated-but-much-loved-mother’s death. It’s all complicated, after all: full of beauty, agony, fear, weird-but-necessary coping strategies, family (or just human) dynamics, and all the discomforts we suffer because we love.
There’s a lot here I relate to. My mother died of cancer, diagnosed when I was 29. I had rebelled hard when younger, and we were still finding our ways back to each other. I tried to make it up to her. Her sisters there always, helping. Writing a eulogy to capture her (within a word-limit that I *greatly* exceeded—her sister quietly paid the overage fee). The one-second memories of awful things I wish weren’t in my experience.
I haven’t read anything like this book before. It’s a journey through what it is like before, during, and after a complicated-but-much-loved-mother’s death. It’s all complicated, after all: full of beauty, agony, fear, weird-but-necessary coping strategies, family (or just human) dynamics, and all the discomforts we suffer because we love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Death of parent
trollmila's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I decided that I'd go to sleep early. That did not happen. I took a few days to read the first hundred pages but laying in bed I just became entranced in the book. I spent the second half of the book crying. During the wedding where Zaumer says there wasn't a dry eye in the tent, years later I was crying along with them.
Zaumer writes so well and the flow of the book, where we get flashbacks, where we get brought into the present are so well timed and balanced. I picked up the book finally after it being on my list for so long (shout out library waitlists (I kid I love you libraries)) due to her being a musician I deeply love but kept reading because it was so impactful and well written and structured.
My family lost a parent to cancer in December 2023 and my mother recieved her diagnosis in Oct 2024 but thankfully they were able to remove it. It was a good book and I think I needed the cry.
Zaumer writes so well and the flow of the book, where we get flashbacks, where we get brought into the present are so well timed and balanced. I picked up the book finally after it being on my list for so long (shout out library waitlists (I kid I love you libraries)) due to her being a musician I deeply love but kept reading because it was so impactful and well written and structured.
My family lost a parent to cancer in December 2023 and my mother recieved her diagnosis in Oct 2024 but thankfully they were able to remove it. It was a good book and I think I needed the cry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Infidelity, Car accident, and Abortion
bkutasz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Bi-racial identity, grief
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
applesodaperson's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
3.5
To preface, I do completely understand how someone could really enjoy this book, and I do think that it is approachable as someone's first foray into the memoir genre. But I just don't exactly think that I was the best reader for it. I mostly just didn't find myself relating to it very much. Which is fine, but if I want to read a book about grief, there are definitely better ones out there.
The writing style of this book was pretty standard, and really it could have neem a bit shorter. I mean it really isn't even that long, but I found myself wanting for it to end regardless. I also felt like I wasn't able to get fully invested, even though this book was quite emotional and sad.
Overall, this book was good, but it wasn't my favorite, and is definitely overhyped online.
The writing style of this book was pretty standard, and really it could have neem a bit shorter. I mean it really isn't even that long, but I found myself wanting for it to end regardless. I also felt like I wasn't able to get fully invested, even though this book was quite emotional and sad.
Overall, this book was good, but it wasn't my favorite, and is definitely overhyped online.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent