Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa From The Archives – Crying In H Mart: Michelle Zauner On How Food Holds Memory, How Grief Can Remake Who We Are & Writing As An Act Of Survival
Feb 23, 2026
Michelle Zauner, singer-guitarist of Japanese Breakfast and memoirist, reflects on family, food and survival. She talks about how Korean groceries unlock memories. She discusses learning Korean, caregiving, and turning grief into writing. She also contrasts her music and author identities and describes adapting her memoir for film.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Year In Korea To Learn Language And Recharge
- Michelle moved to Korea for a year to test her fluency and escape post-tour burnout while working on her second book.
- She enrolled in school, experienced daily language ups and downs, and found the year humbling but restorative.
Grief Triggered Grocery Pilgrimage To H Mart
- Michelle Zauner started going to H Mart after her mother died to reconnect with pre-illness memories through groceries and ingredients.
- Seeing familiar Korean imports and foods unlocked memories of her mother before chemotherapy, breaking through trauma and helping her grieve.
Food As A Sensory Shortcut To Identity
- Food acts as a sensory shortcut to cultural identity and memory, especially when other memories are clouded by trauma.
- Michelle used Korean cooking to reclaim aspects of her heritage she lost after leaving home and during her mother's illness.
