This is a memoir that follows our female protagonist in Korea, as she deals with her mental health and existential crisis. The book is written in a transcript format following her therapy sessions. I liked parts of it - there are some stunning and moveable quotes here that I found relatable - however there were parts of her therapy sessions that just wasn’t relatable for me and I didn’t engage with as much. That being said this is still a beautiful book with self-reflective writing that really encourages you the reader to introspect and analyse your own thought patterns. A nice addition to have on your bookshelf if self-help is your thing.

I had never read a book in this format, and it was really interesting! Even if I couldn't always relate, it's nice to know we're not alone in our feelings and anxieties.

As a lover of all things Korean, specially Tteokbokki, I picked it this book for its intriguing title. However I stayed for the story, the hopeful feeling it evoked and the lessons learnt. I would definitely recommend picking it up!

I've read this book a while ago and I keep thinking about it from time to time. I'll probably pick it up again.

This is a vulnerable, courageous and relatable account of going to therapy, getting help and understanding oneself. It's messy and real and shows that the process is never smooth. "Tadaa, you're fixed" doesn't exist. It's all about putting in the work and showing up for yourself every day.

Extra points because it demystifies therapy!

I already gifted it to a friend and I'll keep recommending it.

So this is not a book I would typically read but I was certainly intrigued by it, I want to Die but I want to eat Tteokbokki is such unique, insightful and a relatable read that I did in some way enjoy it. it certainly a book that would be extremely helpful to a lot of people.

Thank you so much for the e-arc

I thought this was rather simplistic, and the translation was poor - the prose read as if a teenager was scribbling down their thoughts. Made for tedious reading.

I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is an exercise in empathy; in the author opening up her chest and letting her darkest feelings tumble out, in the hope that you will feel understood.

Depression is isolating, frightening, and draining. Knowing there’s someone else out there who has felt this way — who still feels this way — can be incredibly comforting.

I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is unique amongst these other Korean novels in that it isn’t actually a novel, but rather a kind of epistolary narrative that tracks a woman’s life through therapy.

Most chapters begin and/or end with a confession: a personal experience or a feeling related to the author’s depression and anxieties. The rest of the chapter is a transcript of a therapy session.

It feels very voyeuristic, getting to know this author’s inner thoughts and feelings so intimately, but the sense of companionship that comes from it all is so appreciated.

Writing something so revealing and honest must have taken incredible courage, but Baek Sehee has done so with the selfless desire to help others feel less alone and unique in their pain.

If you struggle with depression, or know someone who does, I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is a lesson in empathy and a hug from a comrade-in-suffering.

A very relatable book, showing therapy- the realities, the rambling and intrusive thoughts, the questions and evolution that is all too familiar, while not being dull and academic.

I absolutely loved this book - it was unique, insightful, and actually really moving. I don't typically go for books in this genre, but something about this really drew me in, and I'm so happy it did. I took a lot away from this, and would highly recommend to readers who enjoy memoirs and self-help books.

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is a part memoir, part character study and part 'what to avoid when looking for a therapist' guide.

Within the pages Baek SeHee honestly and unreservedly gives the reader an insight both into her transcripts with her therapist but also more interestingly her thoughts surrounding these transcripts. Baek SeHee shares her ongoing issues with her mental health including issues surrounding self-esteem, body image, anxiety and depression. What I found fascinating was Baek SeHee's ability to portray the general malaise that can come with lingering depression, the feeling of absolute numbness and impassiveness that simultaneously exists with the innate longing for nice things and comfort.

The book is at it's best when Baek SeHee is discussing her thoughts, especially within the vignettes that make up the epilogue. The center chunk of transcripts become quite repetitively irritating but that's solely down to a very lazy therapist rather than Baek SeHee herself. Reading those sections honestly felt like a guide of what to avoid in a therapist and I found them quite frustrating.

Overall I found it an enjoyable and interesting read but would have loved to see much more of Baek SeHee's own thoughts and writing. She's definitely an author I will keep an eye out for in the future.

I don't like posting star reviews for memoirs that I don't get on with, particularly when they are related to mental health - everyone's journey is their own, and to associate a star rating feels slightly more loaded and like a value judgement of some kind.

That being said, this wasn't the book for me. Perhaps I entered into reading this with over-hyped expectations. Perhaps I didn't like the fact that I identified with lots of the authors meditations and observations. Perhaps because of my own experiences with mental health issues, burn-out and therapy, it just didn't quite hit the nail on the head for me. Whatever the reason, I found it tricky to get in to, and neither as enjoyable, enlightening or compelling as I had hoped it would be.

I was frustrated by a lot of what the therapist was saying. The general tone, although surely cathartic for the author, irked me slightly. I wanted more from it.

I think there are many who will enjoy this book - it definitely fits into the "Millennial Sad Girl' tropes (Think Sally Rooney, Lily King, Lisa Taddeo) which is having it's moment ... If you love those "vibes" then I would definitely point you in the direction of this book.

I understand this is supposed to be some kind of phenomenon but it just seemed like the transcripts of some woman's visits to her therapist. I didn't find it thought-provoking or get any kind of insight from it. Perhaps I was just too different from the author to be able to connect with it.

Review not posted anywhere else.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I saw the title of this I was intrigued and upon reading the blurb thought “I definitely want to read this”. A Korean translation exploring mental health through sessions with a therapist. I was expecting a quirky Asian take on the messy sad-girl trope but unfortunately this wasn’t delivered.

I found the exploration of mental health very route one, and the advice given by the therapist were the kinds of things any women’s magazine or wellness social media page might advocate. Having said this, the protagonist is medicated for their symptoms but this is treated really casually by both the protagonist and therapist which seems odd.

Despite the mention of tteokbokki in the title, there isn’t much reference to other specific Korean cultural aspects within the book, which was a shame.

Honestly, I found this boring and a struggle to finish. I hope others find more in this than I have because I think open advocacy around mental health is really important - it just didn’t hit the mark for me.

While there are definitely merits to this book, it didn't match what I was expecting from it.

Because the majority of the text is transcripts between the author and her therapist, there isn't much to actually learn about the author's experience. While there are 'essay' sections - these are very light touch and don't have much information and advice.

The style is also quite stilted; I don't know if this is to do with the translation, but it felt difficult to get a sense of the author as a person and to feel an emotional connection in the book.

There are interesting themes addressed, so I will seek out the author's other work but overall this didn't match the description given.

This might be the best book I've read on mental health. It is incredible. I love how raw it is and how Baek SeHee didn't hide or sugarcoat anything. I really hope they do volume 2!

I truly loved this book looking deep into young mental health and the implications of it on not only yourself but the world around you. I’d recommend this to any introspective young reader

This was a nice little book that was quite different than I thought it would be. I was attracted to the title - because it's very relatable! Most of the book is taken up by transcripts of the author's therapy sessions. I could relate to some of them but not others - even so, I felt like following their discussions was a good exercise and helped me get some therapy too, in an indirect way.
The rest of the book is more like a traditional memoir, with the author's musings on life and her own mental health. I found this more closely relatable, as someone around her age. There were some comforting conclusions drawn, in a way that never felt overly preachy or cringeworthy. This book mostly felt like a warm pat on the back!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with this advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I suppose I'm a mental health professional? I'm a psychological researcher working on mental health research, so say what you will. And I loved this book. It's set between hearing from our protagonist and her psychiatrist. The conversation feels so intimate, I couldn't tear myself away. Though, with the title being food related, I guess I hoped there would be a little more food chat, haha.

I am still not sure what I think about the book. Of course the translation by Anton Hur is flawless and I am quite certain that if it wasn't for this, I might not have reached for the book. Usually I am not a fan of self-help books (because I consider it one), and I wouldn't say that I particurarily loved it... but it did make me feel less alone.

"I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki" (this title!!!) is a transcription of counceling sessions that the author had with her psychiatrist. On the surface it sounds boring - who would want to read the conversations between a random person and their doctor? - but it shows the traps we all fall into: of low self-confidence, the fear that we are not productive enough, not likeable enough. There are is no advice given to the reader - all we have to do is to follow the conversations and notes of the author and perhaps see our lives reflected in her story. And even if someone doesn't treat it as a self-help book, it is then a story of a particular person and their mental state in our society.

Why do I think though that publishing this is important, even though the book wasn't particularly important to me? Because we need to read all kinds of books written by authors from different cultures. We need literary novels, we need poetry, but we also need self-help books, comics, bookbooks and romance novels. Baek SeHee's book has been a huge hit in Korea and we should be grateful (especially those of us who like Korean popculture such as K-dramas) that we have a chance to read (and discuss) it too.