I Want to Die But I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki: Further Conversations with My Psychiatrist

The sequel to the internationally bestselling South Korean therapy memoir, translated by National Book Award finalist Anton Hur.

Whenever depression or emptiness came calling, I was all too eager to open the door of self-pity and go right inside.

Baek Sehee started recording her sessions with her psychiatrist because she hoped to create a guide for herself. She never imagined her reflections would reach so many people, especially young people. I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki became a runaway bestseller in South Korea, then Indonesia, the U.K., and the U.S., drawing readers with its frank and vulnerable discussions of depression and anxiety.

Healing is an uneven process. In this second book, Baek's sessions intensify as her inner conflicts become more complex and challenging. Through her dialogues with her psychiatrist and reflective micro-essays following each session, Baek traces the patterns of her anguish, makes progress, weathers setbacks, and shares the revelatory insights that come just when she has almost given up hope.

I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki offers itself to the social media generation as a book to hold close, a friend who knows that grappling with everyday despair is part of a lifelong journey.

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 08/06/2024
Pages: 224
Weight: 1lbs
Size: 8.25h x 5.51w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781639732302


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2024
Publishers Weekly 06/24/2024

About the Author

Born in 1990, Baek Sehee studied creative writing in college before working for five years at a publishing house. For ten years, she received psychiatric treatment for dysthymia (persistent mild depression), which became the subject of her essays, and then I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki. Her favorite food is tteokbokki, and she lives with her rescue dog, Jaram.

Anton Hur was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the author of No One Told Me Not To and the novel Toward Eternity. His translations include Bora Chung's Cursed Bunny, which was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and a finalist for the National Book Award.