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

 

I LOVE the title and like most people, that's what caught my attention. The formatting of the book was unexpected. I appreciated Baek's vulnerability with sharing different sessions with us, but I didn't expect most of the book being the dialogue from those sessions. Although we did get a glimpse into her mind through those conversations, I would of appreciated if the dialogue was between herself and the reader (me). 

I related to many of Baek's experiences, but I'm personally in another area in my journey. Teenage and early 20s me would have loved to have this book. I do think around those ages we tend to think it's just feeling those feelings or we're over exaggerating, when that's not true. 

Baek's psychiatrist seemed...very underwhelming in my opinion. I am not a professional but in many areas of the book I feel like they could've done/said more for Baek and in other areas I felt like they should've kept their comments to themselves. Like when they called Baek "childish", I felt like it was a bit too judgemental. Especially when before the psychiatrist said that Baek was being to harsh with herself and she focused too much on when they said she was like a "robot", if that's the case, why call her "childish"? I also corrected myself because I remembered that the book has been translated into English so maybe I missed the tone of what was said. I really appreciate that the psychiatrist got to share their thoughts and they admitting that there are some things they would've changed if they had the chance. 

Overall this was a good read and great reminder to not be too hard on yourself, you're not alone, and it's okay to seek help when you need it.