The internationally bestselling therapy memoir translated by International Booker Prize shortlisted Anton Hur.PSYCHIATRIST: So how can I help you?ME: I don't know, I'm – what's the word – depressed? Do I have to go into detail?Baek Sehee is a successful young social media director at a publishing house when she begins seeing a psychiatrist about her - what to call it? - depression? She feels persistently low, anxious, endlessly self-doubting, but also highly judgmental of others. She hides her feelings well at work and with friends, performing the calmness her lifestyle demands. The effort is exhausting, overwhelming, and keeps her from forming deep relationships. This can't be normal. But if she's so hopeless, why can she always summon a desire for her favorite street food: the hot, spicy rice cake, tteokbokki? Is this just what life is like?Recording her dialogues with her psychiatrist over a twelve-week period, and expanding on each session with her own reflective micro-essays, Baek begins to disentangle the feedback loops, knee-jerk reactions, and harmful behaviors that keep her locked in a cycle of self-abuse. Part memoir, part self-help book, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is a book to keep close and to reach for in times of darkness. It will appeal to anyone who has ever felt alone or unjustified in their everyday despair.
What's Bookie?
- Free delivery in Germany.
- Find your perfect next read.
- Track to motivate you to read more.
- Connect with people like you.
I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki: A Memoir
By Baek Sehee
The internationally bestselling therapy memoir translated by International Booker Prize shortlisted Anton Hur.PSYCHIATRIST: So how can I help you?ME: I don't know, I'm – what's the word – depressed? Do I have to go into detail?Baek Sehee is a successful young social media director at a publishing house when she begins seeing a psychiatrist about her - what to call it? - depression? She feels persistently low, anxious, endlessly self-doubting, but also highly judgmental of others. She hides her feelings well at work and with friends, performing the calmness her lifestyle demands. The effort is exhausting, overwhelming, and keeps her from forming deep relationships. This can't be normal. But if she's so hopeless, why can she always summon a desire for her favorite street food: the hot, spicy rice cake, tteokbokki? Is this just what life is like?Recording her dialogues with her psychiatrist over a twelve-week period, and expanding on each session with her own reflective micro-essays, Baek begins to disentangle the feedback loops, knee-jerk reactions, and harmful behaviors that keep her locked in a cycle of self-abuse. Part memoir, part self-help book, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is a book to keep close and to reach for in times of darkness. It will appeal to anyone who has ever felt alone or unjustified in their everyday despair.
Popular Reviews(2)
Reviewed by Lenathis was a book that made me think a lot about my own mental health journey and my therapist. to be fair, the conversations with the therapist were not groundbreaking and sometimes even seemed a little superficial. I really enjoyed the little stories at the end though where we get more insight into the narrator and her life. this book is neither incredibly entertaining nor educational, it just made me pause and slow down a little and maybe that was the point. I also quite enjoyed the notes from the translator, that added a really lovely multi level effect to the novel.
Reviewed by Agostina.<blockquote><i>"I read the book only when it was published, and I was even more embarrassed than I had expected to be as I regretted some of my counselling choices and wished I could've been a bigger help to the author."</i></blockquote> Bitch you better! My god, the sheer incompetence of this "professional". I hated the psychiatrist. They were so... Korean. As someone who has consumed Korean content for many years, I could very easily clock their mentality. Zero empathy. Zero interest in actually helping their patient. Their sessions felt like boxes that needed to be checked so they could say "Done. I did my job today." If you're seeing this and your therapist is similar, please find a new one. Putting that aside, this was tough. I could relate to Sehee on so many aspects, it was both painful and laughable. I appreciate her honesty and vulnerability.