Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

561 reviews

oolite's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

le_roman's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

jacqui_lee_2781995's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

Beautiful reflection on how mixed race children often find themselves torn between their cultures and continue trying to find their identity throughout their lifetime.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

rebskill's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Grief

lavishrebellion's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent

lsiwrit's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Body horror

lalala219's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

5.0

Eu sou apaixonada por este livro. Como alguém que teve mãe, tia e tio passando por tratamento de câncer (e perdi meu tio para a doença) ele me comove muito. É uma história visceral sobre a perda e o luto e como a autora lidou com isso. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Abortion

dari206's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

2.0

I really did enjoy parts of this novel. As an Asian American, I understood some of the experiences that Zauner shared. I even live in the PNW, and many of my own cultural practices cross and blend with Korean ones. I think it helped me validate the difficulties that I experienced growing up as an immigrant with immigrant parents. I appreciated her highlighting the realities that resettled folks have to adjust to after moving to the United States. 

My critique is that I was expecting more wisdom from her shared experience. Since Zauner a very popular artist and a biracial race woman, I do appreciate her sharing her story with the world. I am sure many people have had their experiences validated as well. 

What I do not like is that she brushes over how she resolved and did not clearly come to a resolution in regards to the difficult relationship she had with her mother. She says she gave therapy a shot, but only mentioned her sessions and her disliking/aversion to it over a paragraph. While I respect she found resolution by reconnecting with food and YouTuber Maangchi, I feel that this memoir exemplified a terrible path of overcoming the trauma that her mother bestowed upon her. As someone who has had a very difficult relationship with my Asian mother, the novel made me feel inadequate for failing to seek and to repair a relationship with my own. 

I appreciate Zauner and feel sorry for her loss, but this book simply felt like a trauma-dump session that really came with little to no resolution or disclosure. I believe Zauner should’ve taken more time to reflect on her experience and I hope that Asian Americans are able to ultimately seek therapy if they’ve had to endure intergenerational trauma.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Abortion, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

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.

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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

quackquackbich's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Racism