Michelle Zauner combs through mementos related to her mother: when she was a child and clung to her throughout her childhood, when she was a challenging teen, when she took care of her dying mother, and when she had to rebuild a life without her. As a Korean-American, she reflects on her relationship with her mother, her struggles with her identity, and how food and music became sources of comfort and connection for her. Grief, cultural identity and the complex bonds between mothers and daughters are explored in the book. It talks about things that are very close to my heart right now: losing a mom, marriage, and Korea. A book read at the appropriate moment, and that made me crave Korean food.
“I loved that she did not fear god. I loved that she believed in reincarnation, the idea that after all this she could start anew. When I asked her what she’d want to come back as, she always told me she’d like to return as a tree. It was a strange and comforting answer, that rather than something grand and heroic, my mother preferred to return to life as something humble and still.”