I interviewed Michelle years ago when she was releasing her next album after Psychopomp, and she said that she wanted to travel to Korea and write a book someday… and years later, here we are.
This book was great. Just an honest, devastating, heartwarming and heartbreaking recollection of Michelle Zauner, growing up as a half-Korean half-white girl in America, navigating her young adulthood and Asian American identity, her relation with her Korean mother and her father, told in a very honest and raw way.
I was fascinated by how much she was able to detail her childhood and food and Korean dishes through a loving way that most Asians and children of immigrants can relate to. The way a mother loves indirectly, but through these small things such as paying attention to the little things and feeding you. I was also fascinated by how much of myself I saw in her, as a musician and broke girl trying to navigate a big city and corporate life but loving music and expression, and not sure if you’ll ever make a life for yourself out of all of that.
But she did it. Her story tells. And I’m glad she’s shared this and lit a fire to reveal what so many of us desire to share. Her story resonates with so many of us and I feel hers is important to tell. Even if she seems annoying or self-entitled, what child or teenager isn’t?
The thick of this was so so hard to read, as Michelle dives into taking care of her mom and sharing those last few moments. Grief isn’t easy, but she shows us exactly what she went through. And you can’t get through it without crying.
I also found it charming to see her relationship grow with her boyfriend and her history of relationships, how it led to her band and her music as Japanese Breakfast, and then took off… This was the catalyst that set her off.
A great, powerful read, that l’m so happy and proud is out there, as cathartic as it is for her, and the rest of us reading to share.
Read from: Nov 04, 2025 – Nov 18, 2025
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