Crying in H Mart

In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.

As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.

Reader Fit: Perfect for readers who appreciate deeply personal memoirs about family, identity, food, and the lasting connections between culture and home.

Why We Carry It: We carry Crying in H Mart because it offers an intimate understanding of growing up Korean American while navigating grief, family expectations, and cultural identity. It reminds us that some of our deepest connections to home are preserved through food, memory, and the people we love.