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Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'
I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee
35 reviews
nica_chan's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts
lonelyplanetlady's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
A reflective memoir written in dialogue format that makes it a quick read through. The story the author tells can be relatable to many as she gives snippets of her therapy sessions. It touches on depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and other pressing topics related to mental and physical health. It left me contemplating my own experience with anxiety and a reassurance that I wasn’t alone in the world.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Mental illness
Minor: Eating disorder
Warning: there is mention of mental illness, domestic abuse, and eating disorders.hippolyta_vi's review against another edition
3.0
I went into this book fully knowing that the reviews I've seen call this book "okay." And it really was. I'm not discounting that it hasn't helped people but I think the way it was written and told could've been more effective.
For example, having stories intermixed with the therapy sessions and reflections could've given the reader more insight into the author and how she actually interacts with people. I never felt like I truly knew her and so I never truly cared. Overall, even though its a nonfiction piece, I wish the storytelling was more creative.
Additionally, the therapist felt robotic and having the insert at the end of the therapists own reflection made me realize that this book is kind of unfair to them. They admit to consenting to being recorded without thought and were embarassed by their portrayal.
I also skimmed all the mini essays at the end of the book. They felt to be hammering home the obvious lessons that were told through the therapy sessions. It doesn't give the readers enough credit imo.
I'd still recommend this to anyone struggling with similar mental health issues as the author but it wasn't for me.
For example, having stories intermixed with the therapy sessions and reflections could've given the reader more insight into the author and how she actually interacts with people. I never felt like I truly knew her and so I never truly cared. Overall, even though its a nonfiction piece, I wish the storytelling was more creative.
Additionally, the therapist felt robotic and having the insert at the end of the therapists own reflection made me realize that this book is kind of unfair to them. They admit to consenting to being recorded without thought and were embarassed by their portrayal.
I also skimmed all the mini essays at the end of the book. They felt to be hammering home the obvious lessons that were told through the therapy sessions. It doesn't give the readers enough credit imo.
I'd still recommend this to anyone struggling with similar mental health issues as the author but it wasn't for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming and Eating disorder
yaoipaddle's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.5
3.5 stars
Better than I thought. I read it in about one day!
I really related to Se-hee at times and it is always nice to feel seen. What I really liked was this just bringing back memories of sessions with my own therapist.
I didn't like how the front had the mix of essays and transcripts but then it abruptly stopped and only had essays at the end. I wish it was more evenly spaced out. I am not sure if all the essays at the end were added in the translated version or later releases. I would like to know.
If you like memoirs and have been a 20-something year old woman with low self esteem you may like this. To be honest I find Se-hee including parts about herself that I didn't really like made the book feel more honest. Not like we have to fully like someone to like their book. Kinda the whole point and weird if you feel like you have to.
Better than I thought. I read it in about one day!
I really related to Se-hee at times and it is always nice to feel seen. What I really liked was this just bringing back memories of sessions with my own therapist.
I didn't like how the front had the mix of essays and transcripts but then it abruptly stopped and only had essays at the end. I wish it was more evenly spaced out. I am not sure if all the essays at the end were added in the translated version or later releases. I would like to know.
If you like memoirs and have been a 20-something year old woman with low self esteem you may like this. To be honest I find Se-hee including parts about herself that I didn't really like made the book feel more honest. Not like we have to fully like someone to like their book. Kinda the whole point and weird if you feel like you have to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Classism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Sexism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Eating disorder and Racism
naomi_k's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Classism, Bullying, and Sexism
james1star's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Title: 100/5 ⭐️
Cover: 20/5 ⭐️
Content and execution: 3.5/5⭐️
This is marketed as a mental health / self help / memoir but I don’t think that’s really an accurate description. It’s basically a transcript of Baek’s sessions with her psychiatrist and then some observations. “This is a record of a very ordinary, incomplete person who meets another very ordinary, incomplete person, the latter of whom happens to be a therapist.” So I think it was okay but not necessarily what I had expected or offered anything that insightful/different. There was parts I (and others from reading reviews) can relate to and understand about depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and others. Baek begins her sessions talking about past trauma (issues of domestic abuse, unhealthy relationship with her older sister to whom she depended on, embarrassment over her social status, passivity in romanic relationships, being bullied at school that made her scared of straying from the herd and some others) and then in her sessions talks over what was happening in her life at the time and how she’s feeling. Her psychiatrist does help, offering some good advice but at times what they say don’t seem to be the most helpful or put across in the best way. Two examples: “…don’t think about the future too much. Your anxiety can become a burden to others.” And “I understand this need of yours to confirm, but I think the way you go about it is perhaps a little… childish?” I don’t have any experience in psychology but do have some with mental health professionals so maybe I’m not the best judge - however, this argument is picked up in some other reviews by professionals.
I also don’t think the writing was all that good, it seemed a bit basic at times and just wasn’t too engaging. I understand it’s a transcript for most of this book and so the things people have said orally written down so there’s little editing one can do but this follows through to the parts where the author is summarising parts and her observations. It’s possible that the nuance, meaning and eloquence was lost in translation.
What follows are my notes and some quotes that stuck out to me. I am glad I did read this as parts I could resonate with and take from it into my own life. But I would say it’s not worth the hype and there are better variations of what this book was trying to do. Exceptional title but average reading experience.
“But the idea that I’m actually normal is somehow even more weird to me”
Likely she has dysthymia - persistent depressive disorder
Hedgehog’s dilemma - contradictory state of longing for intimacy but also wanting to keep others at arm’s length. “I have always wanted to be alone, yet always hated being alone.”
“The assurance that I’m fine makes me want to cry with relief, how embarrassing.”
Self-surveillance, psych says “forgetfulness can be liberating”
“Don’t compare yourself to other people. Compare yourself to your past self.”
“You have this superego that exerts control over you, a superego built not only from your own experiences but cobbled together from all sorts of things that you admire, creating an idealised version of yourself. But that idealised version of yourself is, in the end, only an ideal. It's not who you actually are. You keep failing to meet that ideal in the real world…”
“I believe that the more I look into this strange being, myself, the more routes I will find to happiness.”
Humans beings are three-dimensional - try looking at people like this more
“The unhappiness floats to the top like oil while the happiness sinks below. But the container that holds both is what we call life, and that's where I find solace and joy. I'm sad, but I'm alive, and living through it.”
“I'm very good at objectifying myself, you see. I know I'm not ugly. But I'm not pretty, either. I know I'm just ordinary, and I hate that even more.”
“The social gaze is so insidious, and despite any escape being impossible, I want to escape it.” … “I don't know why an individual has to be treated as less-than and strive to fit society's standards when it's the people who denigrate others who are the real problem.”
Limit use of modifiers like age, job, education and stuff - it adds pressure that we may not be able to fulfil
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
machiko's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Death, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, and Eating disorder
vikipedia__'s review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Mental illness
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Lesbophobia
coco_mp3's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder and Body shaming
wholeottabooks's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
2.0
Synopsis: A Korean woman working in publishing seeks out professional help for mental health concerns about self criticism, depression, isolation, and more. She records her sessions with her therapist and transcribes them into a compilation which is the bulk of this book.
My thoughts: I’ll start by saying this… it feels really wrong to rate a memoir. I was really looking forward to this book. As a MSW student training to be a clinician, this book really peaked my interest. A woman being extremely vulnerable with her inner most thoughts? Sign me up! I went in with the expectations of a lot of the author’s self reflection, depth, and some sort of processing or analysis. This book is exactly as I wrote in the synopsis and not much more... a transcribed copy of segments of her time with a therapist. Although the author was self reflective, there was little to no processing of anything she was absorbing or learning from her sessions. The transcripts just bounced from concern to concern and then ended off with a set of brief essays that were irrelevant to the first half of the book. I’m extremely disappointed in this book and know and hope that others will find it valuable. But as someone already in the mental health field I didn’t find anything new or worthwhile. As someone going into the field of MH, I found it extremely violating that the author would publish these transcripts without her therapists consent. Yes, she asked for permission to record the sessions but the therapist agreed because she mentioned that she uses them because she struggles with remembering what was said. Therefore, in my opinion, the therapist gave consent to what her true intentions were (or what her new intentions were if that wasn’t her initial intention). This irked me and it hurt hearing the therapists reaction to learning about the published transcripts of their sessions. Overall, there are better texts that depict the struggles of mental illness and I would not recommend this one.
My thoughts: I’ll start by saying this… it feels really wrong to rate a memoir. I was really looking forward to this book. As a MSW student training to be a clinician, this book really peaked my interest. A woman being extremely vulnerable with her inner most thoughts? Sign me up! I went in with the expectations of a lot of the author’s self reflection, depth, and some sort of processing or analysis. This book is exactly as I wrote in the synopsis and not much more... a transcribed copy of segments of her time with a therapist. Although the author was self reflective, there was little to no processing of anything she was absorbing or learning from her sessions. The transcripts just bounced from concern to concern and then ended off with a set of brief essays that were irrelevant to the first half of the book. I’m extremely disappointed in this book and know and hope that others will find it valuable. But as someone already in the mental health field I didn’t find anything new or worthwhile. As someone going into the field of MH, I found it extremely violating that the author would publish these transcripts without her therapists consent. Yes, she asked for permission to record the sessions but the therapist agreed because she mentioned that she uses them because she struggles with remembering what was said. Therefore, in my opinion, the therapist gave consent to what her true intentions were (or what her new intentions were if that wasn’t her initial intention). This irked me and it hurt hearing the therapists reaction to learning about the published transcripts of their sessions. Overall, there are better texts that depict the struggles of mental illness and I would not recommend this one.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Body shaming