I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki: the bestselling South Korean therapy memoir

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I wonder about others like me, who seem totally fine on the outside but are rotting on the inside, where the rot is this vague state of being not-fine and not-devastated at the same time. The world tends to focus too much on the very bright or the very dark; many of my own friends find my type of depression baffling. But what’s an ‘acceptable’ form of depression? Is depression itself something that can ever be fully understood? In the end, my hope is for people to read this book and think, I wasn’t the only person who felt like this; or, I see now that people live with this.’

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee

The book is a write up of Baek’s time in therapy discussing this, as well as how she tends to use food for comfort. Usually the psychologist in me means that I have issues over confidentially, but as this is specifically Baek’s own stuff, I think I’m okay. The internationally bestselling therapy memoir translated by International Booker Prize shortlisted Anton Hur. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone and would instead plug Stephanie Foo's What My Bones Know as a self-help-memoir written by an East Asian woman that has therapy transcripts and says something new. I loved the concept. Se-hee displays vision, creativity, and courage. This project is the invention of a genre: The "MySelf-Help Book"!

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each chapter consists of a transcription of part of a therapy session, with reflections before and after. then in the end there's a note from see-hee's therapist, and see-hee finishes with a few personal essays about specific problems in her life. honestly, it seems like it must have been such a cathartic book to write. not only did se-hee forced herself to confront her issues in therapy, but she dug way deeper by choosing to write this book! that's next level. The book is an account of the author’s struggle with dysthymia, or persistent mild depression, and is composed mostly of conversations with her therapist, interspersed with pithy reflective pieces. 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.” In her, book, Baek wrote about how she thinks ‘empathy’ is a form of one’s ‘imagination’. I just think differently, or at least I don't vibe with her views. But that's alright, right? Different people, different views? Hopefully it resonates more with you than it did me.

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki (Paperback) I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki (Paperback)

But then I was afraid and changed it to a more uplifting one. Isn’t that ironic for this kind of book?A prizewinning, thrillingly subversive debut novel about a woman in Japan who avoids harassment at work by perpetuating, for nine months and beyond, the lie that she's pregnant Das Buch beinhaltet den Dialog mit ihrem Therapeuten, sowie authentische und ehrliche Reflexionen über ihre eigene Person. Und genau das konnte mich absolut abholen und überzeugen. Das Geschriebene lädt zum Innehalten und Nachdenken ein. Es geht um das Ergründen der Ursachen von Gefühlen und alten Verhaltensmustern, die sie mit Hilfe der Therapie umpolen kann.

Baek Se-hee (Author of I Want to Die But I Want to Eat

Buatku pribadi, buku "sulit" dituntaskan. Bukan karena nggak bagus, tapi sesi tanya-jawab penulis dan psikiater ini bikin perasaan nggak nyaman. Esai yang ditulis penulis ini mungkin sebenarnya dekat banget sama keseharian aku pribadi. Dan perasaan penulis yang dituangkan dalam buku ini mungkin merupakan pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang selalu ada di benakku. But if she's so hopeless, why can she always summon a desire for her favourite street food, the hot, spicy rice cake, tteokbokki? Is this just what life is like? Books never tire of me. And in time they present a solution, quietly waiting until I am fully healed.” You are fine now, just the way you are. You might say silly things when drunk, there may be side effects from the pills, but you’re fine. If the latter happens, all you have to do is call me up and swear at me.’ I always find it quite difficult to rate non-fiction, especially when it’s a very honest and vulnerable story, so I shall leave my thoughts here instead :)I Want To Die But I Want To Eat Tteokpokki adalah esai yang berisi tentang pertanyaan, penilaian, saran, nasihat, dan evaluasi diri yang bertujuan agar pembaca bisa menerima dan mencintai dirinya. Se-hee is blunt yet charming, I couldn't help but respect her throughout this book. The best parts of the text are her essays, which come at the beginning of each chapter, and at the end of the book. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of I WANT TO DIE BUT I WANT TO EAT TTEOKPOKKI by Baek Se-hee, a memoir/self-help book. I finished reading this book tonight, and while it wasn't what I expected, there were things about it that I enjoyed. 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 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.

I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokpokki Quotes - Goodreads I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokpokki Quotes - Goodreads

Baek führt von außen betrachtet ein normales Leben: Sie hat einen Job in einem Verlag, der ihr Spaß macht, Freunde und eine Partnerschaft, die sie sehr erfüllt. Ihre Gefühle kann sie gegenüber jeder Person gut verbergen und strahlt eine Gelassenheit und Leichtigkeit aus. In ihrem Inneren ist Baek ängstlich, verzweifelt und niedergeschlagen und begibt sich daher in eine Therapie, denn es kostet sie viel Kraft diese Fassade aufrechtzuerhalten. Hanya ada satu 'aku' di dunia. Dengan begitu aku adalah sesuatu yang amat spesial. Diriku adalah sesuatu yang harus kujaga selamanya. Diriku adalah sesuatu yang harus kubantu secara perlahan, kutuntun selangkah demi selangkah dengan penuh kasih sayang dan kehangatan. Diriku adalah sesuatu yang butuh istirahat sesaat sambil menarik napas panjang atau terkadang butuh cambukan agar bisa bergerak ke depan. Aku percaya aku akan menjadi semakin bahagia jika aku semakin sering melihat ke dalam diriku sendiri.” (h. 111)After three months of therapy the author states “Everything is a mess” and feels more out of control than before she started the therapy, which I fully understand, considering the low quality of sessions she had. Even if she sometimes felt the psychiatrist understands her, she never got any constructive guidance on how to solve her problems. What she received was several pieces of advice on how to avoid dealing with the problem, which seemed to be random ideas of her psychiatrist, not a product of their experience, qualifications and knowledge. For example, Baek complained about drinking too much but instead of investigating why she does that and what kind of coping mechanism her drinking is, her therapist just suggested avoiding friends with whom she goes drinking. This may be a common way of sweeping problems under the rug in Korean culture but it is totally inappropriate from the therapy’s perspective as it does not solve the root cause of the issue. I could name many more similar tips the author received. I learned from the book that the author spent ten years in therapy and didn’t end up much wiser. No wonder. The psychiatrist prescribed her a ton of medications without explaining the reasons for doing so, side effects, expected results and even ways of seeing when the medication starts working (!): “I’m going to change your medication a bit. The antidepressants will lift you from the ground a little more, and I’ll also include some mood stabilisers”. I have heard of this level of incompetence from some of my Asian students and I don’t need to mention how extremely frustrated it makes me. Denying a patient knowledge about their health and treatment is a gross misconduct. To learn about and imagine the emotions that I don’t understand or immediately empathise with: that is the affection I extend to others, and the only way to ensure that what’s inside of us doesn’t dry up or rot…’ Psychiatrist: If you make yourself anxious to gain attention, someone will give you attention. Then you get comfortable, and the other person will as well. But after that, you feel despair again. Despite your intentions, you start thinking, If I’m happy then this person will stop paying attention to me, which naturally leads to you trying to avoid becoming happy at all costs.”