Crying in H Mart

Crying in H Mart is a memoir about family, food, grief, and identity. Michelle Zauner grew up in Eugene, Oregon, caught between her Korean mother's expectations and her American surroundings. Her relationship with her mother was complicated—sometimes fraught, often loving—but food was always their shared language. Korean dishes like kimchi jjigae and tteokbokki connected Michelle to her heritage and her mother's love. When her mother is diagnosed with cancer, Michelle returns home to care for her, learning to cook the Korean dishes of her childhood as an act of love and preservation. After her mother's death, Michelle navigates grief while also grappling with what it means to be Korean American when her strongest link to Korea is gone. She finds healing through cooking, her music career with the band Japanese Breakfast, and visits to H Mart, the Korean supermarket chain where she can still feel close to her mother.

Michelle Zauner is a Korean-American musician and author. She is the lead singer and songwriter of the indie rock band Japanese Breakfast. Her essay "Crying in H Mart," which became the basis for the memoir, went viral in The New Yorker in 2018. The book became a #1 New York Times bestseller.