Crying in H Mart (2021) by Michelle Zauner is a memoir about her upbringing as a Korean American struggling with her identity and dealing with the untimely death of her mother from cancer.
H Mart is an Asian supermarket chain that provides Zauner and other transplanted Asian-Americans the tastes, smells, and products of their home countries and families. For Zauner, food was the most powerful connection she had with her mother. That connection lives on with the Korean recipes Zauner learns to make, reminding her of her mother’s cooking.
It wasn’t until the last few years of her mother’s life that Zauner truly understood and appreciated all the ways her mother had shown her love. Zauner’s memoir is a testament to all that a mother’s love may at times be difficult to comprehend, but should always be appreciated nonetheless.
