Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee

40 reviews

janewa's review against another edition

emotional informative fast-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Body shaming

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

sigreads_'s review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism

seraphiina's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

2.5

I am SO conflicted about this book.
First of all, I had great sympathy for Baek Se-hee. Having struggled with mild depression and anxiety most of my life, I could relate to a lot of her insecurities, and I know it's a huge step to be honest towards yourself; let alone the entire world! I resonated with her thoughts and I found myself thinking that I wish I could meet her and try to convince her that she was absolutely not a mean or bad person; just someone going through a rough time without the proper tools to deal with it. 
Here is the big caveat: The format of the novel is a collection of transcripts betqeen Baek Se-Hee and her psychiatrist. Which is honestly interesting and refreshing.
But I found myself SO upset with the psychiatrist. At best, she gave banal advice that even most girlfriends or parents would be able to give. Well-meaning, but not necessarily grounded in any psychological theory. At worst, she seemed condescending and unprofessional, constantly reminding our poor author of how "extreme" she was in her thoughts without giving her proper tools to assess and change the way she was thinking. It was so frustrating to see such a clever and bright young woman be undermined with downright toxic advice such as "try to change your way of thinking 😊" - thanks, I am cured.
I feel the overall message of the novel is positive and I am happy that Baek Se-Hee found some growth and recovery in this subpar therapy and through this writing journey. But as a reader, I found myself wanting to rip my hair out.
I recommend this if you are experiencing similar issues and want to resonate with the fact that you are not alone and things will get better; but look further for actual helpful advice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Minor: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse

readingqueerly's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

3.75

Ik heb dit boek uitgelezen redelijk laat op de avond maar it hits so hard. Ik denk dat er weinig mensen zijn die zich niet herkennen in het hoofdpersonage, al is het maar voor enkele zinnen of gedachten die ze deelt met ons. Het lef om je eigen zo bloot te durven leggen door je therapiesessies neer te pennen is om jaloers op te zijn als je het mij vraagt. Fascinerend ook om het stukje te lezen dat van de therapeut zelf komt. Dit boek is zelfreflectie op zovele vlakken: als lezer, als schrijver, als patiënt, als therapeut, ... 
Zeker een aanrader voor iedereen die misschien wel nog door het leven geraakt, maar de manier waarop toch moeilijker lijkt dan voor anderen. Je bent niet alleen.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Suicidal thoughts

robinks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

3.0

The concept was cool, but in practice, I didn’t like how the book was arranged. Each chapter was a random combination of commentary and conversation, making it hard to follow at times, and it was unclear what the timing of the sessions looked like relative to each other. Also, the last chapter suddenly switched gears into short essays, which I didn’t like. Additionally, as a therapist myself, Sehee’s therapist was giving so much advice and perspective packaged as truth that I did not agree with.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Dysphoria, Body shaming, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Eating disorder, Abandonment, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: War, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Lesbophobia

buttongirl22's review

emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

This was a retrospective look at working through one’s issues through therapy. It was heavily relatable and enlightening to read. I found myself seeing my own behavior and thoughts reflected back through a more clear lens. I really enjoyed Baek Se-hee’s writing and candor in this sensitive subject. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Child abuse

Minor: Alcoholism

0hannah0banana0's review against another edition

reflective sad tense slow-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia and Alcoholism

sarah984's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

3.0

I think this was a really courageous thing to publish but the book itself is not organized very well - it's transcripts of therapy sessions and some seemingly unrelated short essays - and the psychiatrist honestly didn't seem very helpful aside from prescribing medications.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Fatphobia, Suicide, Medical content, Classism, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

reubenlb's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

3.0

everyone complaining about how bad the therapist is when when it was an uncannily accurate portrayal of my nhs therapy experience - i wish there was more of the postscript reflection, but i think that might have been another book then

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Emotional abuse and Domestic abuse

lifeofchrstnlvly's review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Alcoholism

Minor: Domestic abuse