A moving memoir on grief, mental illness, and the healing power of food.

and a mid-year review on my book reviews.

Jun 25, 2023

Hi friends,

I went on a short walk the other day after work. The previously green and lush tall grass from a rainy California winter has completely turned golden, swinging in the wind under a clear blue sky. Suddenly, I was reminded that summer had arrived, which meant half of this year had already passed. While there’s always sadness with the passing of time, I am enjoying the longer and sunnier days spent outside.

two images showing a path on a hill surrounded by grass. The first image has green grass and cloudy sky, while the second one has golden grass and clear blue sky. — same area, very different color palette, just two months apart.

This week, I am sharing two books that I recently read. They differ in genre, one fiction, and the other memoir, but both beautifully express some of the most profound human emotions: grief, loneliness, tenderness, and love.

Lastly, I sum up all the book reviews I’ve written in 2023 so far, mostly to reassure myself that not all time is lost.

TASTES LIKE WAR by Grace M. Cho (2021)

Grace Cho's TASTES LIKE WAR (2021) is a powerful memoir that weaves together narratives of grief, mental illness, trauma, and the healing power of food. It reveals the real human toll of the Korean War and the long-lasting effect of collective and individual trauma as a result.

Growing up in a xenophobic small town in Washington, Cho was born to a white American father and a Korean mother whom he met in Korea during the US military occupation. At 15, Cho had to diagnose her mother's schizophrenia after searching through library books. Cho lived through her mother's untreated mental illness for over a decade. In her mother's final years, Cho fed her by cooking traditional Korean food - the very dishes her mom ate growing up. Through shared meals, Cho learned more about her mother's past, particularly her experience in post-War South Korea, possibly working as a sex worker for the U.S. military base.

Part memoir, part eulogy, TASTES LIKE WAR explores the nuanced daughter-mother relationship while her mother’s mental illness worsened and how the Asian diaspora often uses cooking and food to express love. A sociology professor, Cho also takes her memoir beyond her mother’s story by incorporating her academic research: the intergenerational trauma of the Korean War and the U.S. military occupation. Her research opened a window into the historical and political environment that contributed to her mother's mental illness and the long-lasting impact on the Korean diaspora's psyche.

TERRACE STORY by Hilary Leichter (Coming soon on August 29, 2023)

When I received the book in the mail, I focused on the beautiful cover art for several minutes before turning it around. Only a few pages in, the story completely mesmerized me.

This novel consists of several short stories that are seemingly independent but closely tied to one another. A young couple living in a crowded urban apartment discovers a magnificent terrace behind their closet, but this enchanting space only materializes when their friend Stephanie visits. The lives of these characters unfold from there, across generations, space, and time.

Terrace Story explores the profound human loneliness and the desire to be loved. In just under 200 pages, these short stories allow the readers to intimately experience the characters' deepest sorrows, desires, and most intricate human longings to the fullest. Reading this book feels like going on a Disney ride - a fully immersive experience that takes you into another world. Even though it’s short, the magic stays with you.

*This book is the first physical advanced reader copy I received from a publisher. Reading and holding it in my hand felt like a very special moment.

A mid-year review of my book reviews

I always feel short on time for everything I want to read and write. Between starting a new job, moving to a new place, and everything else I want to do in life, somehow, I managed to squeeze time to comment on a few books I feel strongly about.

Here is the list:

Upcoming releases:

Tomb Sweeping (August 8, 2023) by Alexandra Chang
Chinese Prodigal: A Memoir in Eight Arguments (August 15, 2023) by David Shih

Recent releases:

Our Migrant Souls (May 2023) by Héctor Tobar
Letters to a Writer of Color (March 2023) by Deepa Anappara (Editor) and Taymour Soomro (Editor)
Age of Vice (January 2023) by Deepit Kapoor
The Hard Road Out: One Woman’s Escape From North Korea (January 2023) by Jihyun Park, Seh-Lynn Chai, and translated by Sarah Baldwin