READ: Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner
You may know Michelle Zauner as the indie musician behind ‘Japanese Breakfast’, whose new album ‘Jubilee’ is too good not to mention. But beyond her music and songwriting, Zauner is also a New York Times bestselling author. In August 2018, The New Yorker published Michelle Zauner personal essay “Crying in H Mart”. The extremely popular piece is now an entire book based on the original essay (Read the essay here for a taste of what you are in for). Telling the story of her mother’s passing from cancer, among her stories of coming of age as Korean American, Zauner explores how to remember her mother, notably in relation to the food they shared together and their Korean heritage. ‘Crying in H Mart’ is a memoir that encounters grief, loss, and identity alongside the celebration of family and food.
From the Publisher
From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, and author of the viral 2018 New Yorker essay that shares the title of this book, an unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity.
In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother’s particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.
As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band–and meeting the man who would become her husband–her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother’s diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.
Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner’s voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.
Buy it Here
WATCH: The Lesbian Bar Project Documentary
Did you know there are only 15 lesbian bars remaining in the U.S.? The Lesbian Bar Project has made it their duty to make sure these bars are celebrated, supported, and sustained. This is why creators Erica Rose and Elina Street have created a 20 minute documentary film that broadcasts the voices of the bar owners, community archivists, and clientele- their struggles during Covid, their hopes for the future, and why it is important to save these safe queer spaces. Right now their 4 week fundraising effort is happening in sponsorship with Jägermeister’s #SaveTheNight initiative, with a goal of $200K to be raised for the bars during Pride month.
Follow on Instagram or check out the website for more info and to donate!
Watch the documentary Here
LISTEN: Sleater-Kinney’s NEW album ‘Path of Wellness’
‘Path of Wellness’ is the 10th album by the ‘90s Riot Grrrl band and their first self-produced record ever. Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker worked for the first time as a duo since their Olympia, WA beginnings. When long-time drummer Janet Weiss left the band after the recording of The Center Won’t Hold in 2019, naturally some backlash ensued and divided fans, as it always does when a band’s sounds evolve. But being 10 albums into a powerful career, change is what keeps creativity going. Corin Tucker said in an interview with Vulture: “Personally, I’m always wanting to try different things and to be creative in different ways. That can be hard sometimes. It can be difficult. It can make you uncomfortable. I think that’s part of being an artist and doing work that keeps you interested over a long period of time”.
Check out Sleater-Kinney Presents “Path of Wellness” — A parodied news and entertainment program for the release of the album featuring performances of new songs and a lot of familiar faces
Listen on Spotify Apple Music
–Leah Flannery
