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A review by toastyghosty13
I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
4.0
I really liked this book, and this is coming from someone who primarily reads fantasy.
This is a recording of a korean woman’s therapy sessions, where she explores different issues she is facing internally and externally. A lot of the issues she discusses with her therapist are feelings that are common but can feel like they single you out as different from others. Examples are loneliness and isolation, over analyzing relationships, and finding things you dislike about yourself while failing to change them — and then further beating yourself up over them.
The format in which this is written makes it much easier to absorb, since sometimes it can be dry content (at least for someone like me from my reading habits). The author writes about her therapy sessions in a chat style format where it shows the dialogue of her and her therapist next to the name of whoever is speaking. This absolutely helped to break up the content when trying to read about it.
Reading this book helped me to understand that some of what I feel is not that different from what a lot of others feel. It is very easy to feel like you are alone in your thoughts, especially given the last 3 years since 2020 to 2023. This book was a joy to read, and was not at all depressing considering that the entire topic of discussion is experiencing and coping with constant mild depression. On the contrary, I found this to be a very light and delightful read despite the focus on dysthymia.
I thoroughly recommend this book no matter how not-depressed of a person you are. Everyone has bad feelings, which are part of what makes us human, and this book celebrates the ability to analyze them and allow yourself to feel the shittiness.
This is a recording of a korean woman’s therapy sessions, where she explores different issues she is facing internally and externally. A lot of the issues she discusses with her therapist are feelings that are common but can feel like they single you out as different from others. Examples are loneliness and isolation, over analyzing relationships, and finding things you dislike about yourself while failing to change them — and then further beating yourself up over them.
The format in which this is written makes it much easier to absorb, since sometimes it can be dry content (at least for someone like me from my reading habits). The author writes about her therapy sessions in a chat style format where it shows the dialogue of her and her therapist next to the name of whoever is speaking. This absolutely helped to break up the content when trying to read about it.
Reading this book helped me to understand that some of what I feel is not that different from what a lot of others feel. It is very easy to feel like you are alone in your thoughts, especially given the last 3 years since 2020 to 2023. This book was a joy to read, and was not at all depressing considering that the entire topic of discussion is experiencing and coping with constant mild depression. On the contrary, I found this to be a very light and delightful read despite the focus on dysthymia.
I thoroughly recommend this book no matter how not-depressed of a person you are. Everyone has bad feelings, which are part of what makes us human, and this book celebrates the ability to analyze them and allow yourself to feel the shittiness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Body shaming, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol