Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

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

69 reviews

robinks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

3.25

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

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

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

buttongirl22's review against another edition

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

nenaveenstra's review against another edition

dark emotional informative fast-paced

2.5

I bought this book, because I heard rave reviews of it on the internet, and because I was intrigued by the title; I assumed that this book would be about finding the little joys in life, but instead it was a collection of conversations with a psychiatrist, interspersed with bits of text that could have been Instagram captions. It was relatable at times, but I wasn’t really inspired or moved at all, I think because all of it was so vague. I bet the author felt really vulnerable writing this book, but it didn’t read as vulnerable, because no specific details were given at all. Details would’ve elevated this book from a collection of transcripts and blog posts, to an actual story. 

Maybe it was too early for the author to write this book. A lot of this book consists of figuring out what’s wrong with her, why she is the way she is, and there’s no conclusion at the end. I respect that mental health is a journey, and maybe a never ending one, but I don’t feel like this book did anything at all. It didn’t break any taboos, it didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know, and it didn’t inspire me. 

What it did do, however, was show how incompetent mental health professionals can be. It felt very reminiscent of some experiences I’ve had with psychiatrists in the past, and it was frustrating to read how the psychiatrist in this book jumped to conclusions without seeing the full picture, suggested the author had disorders she didn’t really have, and didn’t seem to give any advice that she could actually work with - and if they did, it wasn’t written down. I appreciated, though, that there was a note by the psychiatrist in this book as well, and that they recognised their flaws. 

I related to the author’s experiences quite a bit, and it felt very obvious to me that she was neurodivergent in some way. Not to diagnose someone I’ve never met, but the issues she described were very reminiscent of autistic burnout and depression and anxiety are very often symptoms of ADHD. If you related to this book, too, you might want to look into that. 

I feel like this book might be revolutionary in East Asia, and the autism and ADHD diagnoses might not be as common over there, but it did not function well at all in the context of the Western World, and The Netherlands specifically. I also think the way this book was marketed did it dirty. So, unfortunately, I’m only giving this two stars, even though I really wanted to like it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

llau's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

emg3's review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Eating disorder

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

khakipantsofsex's review against another edition

emotional mysterious

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Body shaming, and Eating disorder

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

tlindhorst's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

Written by a 20 something Korean woman about her struggles with depression & self-judgment. A helpful read for cross cultural mental health issues. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia, Alcohol, Mental illness, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Dysphoria

The author’s experience of domestic violence as a child is never connected to her mental health issues

aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Mental illness, Bullying, Classism, and Alcohol

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