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Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'
Quero morrer, mas também quero comer tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee
104 reviews
rupanjali's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Mental illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
rosaemtodd's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Mental illness
suzyreadsbooks's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.5
About 65% of this book was made up of therapy transcripts between Baek Sehee and her psychiatrist. She talks about feeling aimlessly depressed, inadequate, and self conscious. We get little pieces of advice, hear her confessions about deep-rooted feelings, see the repetitive nature of therapy, and witness the ups and downs of her experiences w psychiatric medication.
Following each transcript was a very short reflection on what it taught her. At the end, there are slightly longer reflections from her and her psychiatrist, and a slightly random collection of vignettes of Sehee’s feelings about various aspects of her life, such as her grandma, her dogs, and growing older.
I would have loved an afterword with some context about how this book was received in South Korea, where it was originally published and became a bestseller. I imagine it’s been helpful for destigmatizing therapy and medication, especially for people who have never had these experiences themselves.
I felt like the transcripts were lacking context (e.g. suddenly her psychiatrist is speaking with her about a breakup, but we hadn’t been told that she had been broken up with), and it cut off somewhat arbitrarily after a 12 week period even though she was clearly going to continue sessions after that point. I wish that the proportion of transcripts vs reflections had been different.
It was interesting to see the very directive style of therapy. But this book made me realize that therapy sessions are sort of mundane if you’re not the one experiencing the specific concerns at hand. Like my therapy sessions might seem enlightening to me but could be basic advice to someone w different life experiences.
thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the eARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content
heatherjay94's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
The book follows the author's journey to improving their mental health through a series of reflective essays and transcripts of their therapy sessions, detailing their struggles with self-image, low self-esteem, and dependency issues, among other things.
I didn't expect to relate to this book as much as I did. It was saddening to see someone trying to find their way out of the bog of self-hatred. I see parts of myself in their thoughts, as well as fragments of my old self. I think if I'd found this book 2-3 years ago, I would have struggled a lot more to finish it.
I respect the courage it must have taken to write a book like this - to bare yourself in such a way that will no doubt invite contempt and derision from some people, even the ones who do relate to your struggles. The book was like a mirror for me in parts, and I have to admit I didn't like what I see.
But still, I'm glad I read it. I don't think I'll revisit it any time soon, but I don't regret picking it up. I wish the author all the best in their journey to healing, and I hope the book finds its way into the hands of those who need it. Sometimes we just need to know that we aren't alone in our pain and ugliness.
I didn't expect to relate to this book as much as I did. It was saddening to see someone trying to find their way out of the bog of self-hatred. I see parts of myself in their thoughts, as well as fragments of my old self. I think if I'd found this book 2-3 years ago, I would have struggled a lot more to finish it.
I respect the courage it must have taken to write a book like this - to bare yourself in such a way that will no doubt invite contempt and derision from some people, even the ones who do relate to your struggles. The book was like a mirror for me in parts, and I have to admit I didn't like what I see.
But still, I'm glad I read it. I don't think I'll revisit it any time soon, but I don't regret picking it up. I wish the author all the best in their journey to healing, and I hope the book finds its way into the hands of those who need it. Sometimes we just need to know that we aren't alone in our pain and ugliness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Suicidal thoughts