In Crying in H Mart, the 2023–24 One Book One Northwestern selection, author Michelle Zauner explores themes related to family, grief, and identity. Zauner revisits the devastating loss of her mother, recounting the complex mother-daughter relationship they had and the intense emotions of caring for a parent who is ill. She contemplates what it means to lose someone who was the strongest tie to her Korean heritage and shares what it was like growing up as a multi-racial Asian American person. Along the way are stories about how food can serve as a space of comfort and connection with oneself and with one’s family and heritage. This selection of prints and photographs from The Block’s collection is inspired by the book, highlighting common experiences of growing up, intergenerational family relationships, processes of mourning and remembering, and moving between cultures.
We invite members of the Northwestern community and beyond to use these works as opportunities to connect to the text’s themes, whether for private contemplation or as a springboard in discussion with others. We include short contextual descriptions of each artwork and how each expands on ideas in Zauner’s memoir, but we also invite you to forge your own connections. Browse our online collection and see what works speak most strongly to themes in the book or your own experiences of familial relationships, personal history, entering adulthood, identity, and grief.
We are happy to provide a shareable pdf booklet and downloadable images for teaching and engagement. You can schedule a class visit to discuss these works in person in our study center by contacting Essi Rönkkö at essi.ronkko@northwestern.edu.
