Wayward Reviews

A personal memoir/conversations with a therapist from Baek Se-Hee a South Korean Social Media Director. I really didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book – it was eye opening and touching.

Book Synopsis

Book Details

Pages: 208

Genre: Non-fiction (Memoir)

Publisher: Bloomsbury, Bloomsbury Publishing

Format: Paperback

Baek Sehee is a successful young social media director at a publishing house when she begins seeing a psychiatrist about her – what to call it? – depression? She feels persistently low, anxious, endlessly self-doubting, but also highly judgmental of others. She hides her feelings well at work and with friends, performing the calmness her lifestyle demands. The effort is exhausting, overwhelming, and keeps her from forming deep relationships. This can’t be normal. But if she’s so hopeless, why can she always summon a yen for her favorite street food: the hot, spicy rice cake, tteokbokki? Is this just what life is like?

Recording her dialogues with her psychiatrist over a twelve-week period, and expanding on each session with her own reflective micro-essays, Baek begins to disentangle the feedback loops, knee-jerk reactions, and harmful behaviors that keep her locked in a cycle of self-abuse. Part memoir, part self-help book, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is a book to keep close and to reach for in times of darkness. It will appeal to anyone who has ever felt alone or unjustified in their everyday despair.

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Review

* Non-Spoiler Review*

I picked this book up on a whim while waiting at the train station (I know many of you can relate to this impromptu like purchases). Recently I have been obsessed with watching K-Dramas and watching at home in Korea YouTube videos…therefore I wasn’t surprised that I picked this book up as it’s author was Korean.

This short memoirs gives you a sneak peak into the cultural challenges in Korea and how one woman deals with her heavy mental health issues. I like the monologue flow of the memoir as it made me feel like I was sitting in their sessions.

There are little nuggets of wisdom in these conversations and I really enjoy the summary at the end of each chapter on what topics they discussed. It was eye opening, heartfelt and a supportive read – I feel the many people who have been considering therapy might find a positive reaction to this book and make the leap of their own (big claim I know).

Overall, a short and snappy memoir that has you feeling a range of emotions!

Spice Rating: 0/6 – See my rating system here

Book Rating: 4/5