Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner

“Lovely was an adjective my mother adored … She felt it encompassed an ideal beauty and ardor. It felt a fitting epitaph. To be a loving mother was to be known for a service, but to be a lovely mother was to possess a charm all her your own.” Such is the sublime insight and beauty of Michelle Zauner’s writing, in her memoir “Crying in H Mart”, which explores her Korean heritage and the fallout from her mother’s death. As someone who sometimes feels similarly straddled between cultures, loves food writing, and enjoys exploring the identity and conflict and challenges that mothers face, this book checked many boxes for me. (Am I Ukrainian? Am I American? I often feel not wholly one or the other, but something of a blend, which has taken me nearly four decades to realize and embrace.) Michelle, who is the creative genius and singer for Japanese Breakfast, has a writing talent all her own, and her wonderful descriptions of her mother, traveling to Korea, and the meals her and her mother shared is wondrous, and poignant.

On another note, friends, as the weather warms, I am shifting my focus to being back in the studio, so this is my last book review for a while!! Thank you for your recommendations, shares, and positive feedback. Keep reading! Stay tuned for more lit + art + all the good things.
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