In ‘Crying in H Mart,’ an Oregonian confronts grief, nourishes Korean identity through food By Michael Russell, oregonlive.com
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Whenever I drive by H Mart, I think about Michelle Zauner.
Three years ago, Zauner, who grew up in the woods south of Eugene, published “ Crying in H Mart,” a New Yorker essay about food, grief and discovering cultural identity through food. In the essay, which was widely shared, Zauner walked the aisles of the big box Asian supermarket, moved to tears by memories of her Korean mom, who died after a brutal fight with gastrointestinal cancer in 2014.
Turns out, that essay was just the first chapter in a fine new memoir of the same name, a book that details Zauner’s return to Oregon to help care for her mother, estrangement from her Jewish-American father and attempts to rewind the effects of a rebellious childhood while unlocking her Korean identity. Zauner will discuss the book during a virtual Powell’s event on Thursday