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I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki
I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki | Baek Sehee
THE PHENOMENAL KOREAN BESTSELLER 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 Se-Hee 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 judgemental of others. She hides her feelings well at work and with friends; adept at performing the calmness, even ease, 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 yen for her favourite street food, the hot, spicy rice cake, tteokbokki? Is this just what life is like? Recording her dialogues with her psychiatrist over a 12-week period, Baek begins to disentangle the feedback loops, knee-jerk reactions and harmful behaviours 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.
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Cosmos_Moon_River
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Mehso-so

This was a little strange… a self help type/psychology book translated from Korean. Much of the book, the author is recounting, word for word, her interactions with her psychiatrist. It seems like most of her problems stem from childhood problem or issues with societal norms. Some must really like it, as it has been translated in many languages and is a Korean best seller. In my opinion, it was alright. Something is learned from all we read.

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mija333
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Bailedbailed

I‘m all for the ‘I can‘t cope‘ theme. But this is exhausting

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Teresereading
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On the weekend i chanced across a local
Food Van selling tteokbokki. Delicious with a 🌶 hit

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Teresereading
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Life is as messy as a bag whose owner never cleans it out.
An unusual book, insights into Baeks mental health journey.
#memoir
#24countriesin2024

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Teresereading
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Four years have passed since I published I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki.
#firstlinefridays
@ShyBookOwl

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BekaReid
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Reading on the train to Glasgow. This book is excellent!

slategreyskies I checked this out from the library when it came out, but it had such a short window of checkout time, as there was a hold on it, so I couldn‘t renew. I ended up having to return it unread, but now that you‘ve reminded me of it, I‘m going to check it out again. Thanks! 😊 6mo
18 likes1 comment
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RaeLovesToRead
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Mehso-so

Great title, cover, & concept, but I didn't get much out of this.

I left with little idea of who the writer is as a person despite being privy to her inner thoughts. She's a bunch of contradictions & the messy feel of this book might reflect her inner chaos or it may just be poor structuring.

Sometimes empathic, sometimes mean-spirited, in turn insightful and blinkered. There's no real conclusion, just the meanderings of a soul looking inwards.

BarbaraBB That‘s too bad, the book looks great indeed! 8mo
64 likes1 comment
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DebinHawaii
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#BookBinge

These two books are #AboutMentalHealth
The tagged is on my TBR & the other we read for #SundayBuddyRead & it solidly confirmed my decision that group therapy is not for me.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I have Group but haven‘t read it yet 🤷🏻‍♀️ 1y
Eggs Perfect 👍🏼 1y
TheBookHippie Me either just YIKES. 1y
53 likes3 comments
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VRM1975
Pickpick

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Night_Reader
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Mehso-so

3/5 🌟

The only awesome thing about this book is the title. There were some parts that were relatable, as a lot of people do suffer from anxiety, but half-way through it just became repetitive and by the end I was lost (it lacked direction).

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Matilda
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“Your hold is ready” is my favorite notification

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Yes…and great book title. I don‘t know what that is, but I have foods like that.😏 1y
Matilda @Riveted_Reader_Melissa definitely one of my favorite titles 1y
CSeydel I just made tteokbokki last week! 1y
Matilda @CSeydel I‘ve never eaten it but definitely want to! 1y
34 likes4 comments
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Chelsea.Poole
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Pickpick

A short audiobook of therapy sessions translated from the Korean. The cultural differences between the author‘s experiences and my own are great, and the tone was very different than what I am used to with “therapy memoirs”. This is mostly a transcript of the author‘s work in therapy dealing with anxiety, relationships with others, and self awareness. I had to Google tteokbokki and I want it!!

ShyBookOwl Interesting! 2y
Megabooks This was an interesting one! 2y
90 likes1 stack add2 comments
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she.hearts.horror
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Pickpick

Inspiration beyond measure. Reflections that inspire intention. Knowing myself better because of another‘s journey. This is perfection in the imperfect. This is humanity. I am grateful to be me — and part of something much bigger than myself. 🖤

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Sydneypaige
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A memoir in the form of mostly therapy transcripts. It‘s both specific and universal in the ways most true things are. The therapy tone is very different than most would encounter here in the West because of our communication styles and cultural expectations. Please engage with the translation with that in mind, as well as with the awareness of story structure and expectations of memoir as someone let us in on a very personal journey.

9 likes1 stack add
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batsy
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Pickpick

It feels a bit wrong to rate or review something like this, which is best described as a therapy memoir. It's essentially transcripts of the author's therapy sessions, & each chapter ends with a summary of the author's reflections. I liked reading it; everyone has different problems but also many problems in common, so it was enlightening in parts & it made me think. I just wasn't a fan of the structure, because it had the sense of a textbook.

Michael_Gee I like the title! 2y
batsy @Michael_Gee Me too! It's definitely one that sticks in your mind. 2y
paulfrankspencer I've seen numerous "reviews" lately claiming a general distaste for reviewing a memoir. Though there may be more merit in your statement regarding this particular book, I struggle to agree with that sentiment. The author, regardless of how personal their story may be, has created a public work to be consumed by the public. Can we not review the entertainment value, the writing style, how well it was produced, how boring their story is? Thoughts? 2y
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batsy @paulfrankspencer I agree; I asked myself the same thing. Once a book is produced and sent out into the world, it can be judged in terms of how one judges books! It's my own personal feelings that get in the way for this one. As mentioned, it's largely just a collection of therapy transcripts. I did find the structure unimaginative but I found value in the transcribed sessions. 2y
vivastory Before I left Twitter I read an interesting post by Anton Hur that although this is a transcript, it's a carefully constructed and edited one. 2y
batsy @vivastory Oh, I'm going to try and look that up. I like that Hur has translated so many different books. I can imagine the editing that went into the transcripts but I appreciate knowing that it was carefully constructed. It's easy to assume it wasn't as a reader, not being able to see the work that went into it. 2y
110 likes3 stack adds6 comments
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bianka
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Pickpick

‘fear increases when it‘s something that you keep to yourself. instead of suffering alone, it can often be good to share it with someone else, like you‘re doing now.‘ ; therapy sessions for free . 4.2/5

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underground_bks
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Mehso-so

I would recommend this bestselling Korean therapy memoir for folks who have never gone to therapy but are struggling with depression and anxiety. As someone who‘s been in therapy, I related but was also bored—it‘s primarily transcripts of sessions with some very short reflections tacked on. It is incredibly vulnerable and I see why it‘s made an impact, but I‘d recommend What My Bones Know or You Should Talk to Someone for those wanting to go deep.

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