Crying in H Mart

• Genre: Nonfiction; memoir
• Originally Published: 2021
• Reading Level/Interest: College/adult
• Structure/Length: 20 chapters; approx. 256 pages; approx. 7 hours, 23 minutes on audio
• Central Concern: Michelle Zauner tells the story of growing up as one of the few Asian American kids at school in Eugene, Oregon, and her struggle with her mother’s high expectations. Her mother’s terminal cancer diagnosis forces her to reckon with her fading Korean identity and reclaim the cultural gifts her mother gave her.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Terminal cancer; loss of a parent; grief

Michelle Zauner, Author

• Bio: Born in Seoul, South Korea in 1989; Korean American musician and author; grew up in Eugene, Oregon; graduated from Bryn Mawr College; lead vocalist of alternative pop band Japanese Breakfast; third album Jubilee launched the band onto the Billboard 200 and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album; Crying in H Mart is her first book and was published to critical acclaim, debuting at #2 on The New York Times bestseller list; will be turned into a feature film
• Awards: Goodreads Choice Award for Memoir & Autobiography (2021)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Food’s Relationship to Cultural and Family Identity
• The Difficult Relationship Between an Immigrant Mother and Her Daughter
• The Undignified Reality of Death by Cancer