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Zauner's memoir has reached national acclaim for how it articulates grief and the complicated feeling of belonging, especially when a parent dies.

She titled her memoir after H Mart because she said it was a place that reminded her of her mother and the memories they had together.

“I think I wanted to go there around the holidays because it felt like the closest I could sort of be near her, subconsciously, to just hear women that kind of dressed like her or spoke like her, eating the things that we used to eat together,” said Zauner. “And I found myself going to this grocery store more and more to unlock these different memories of my mother.”

“Crying in H Mart” has spent 55 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. In June 2021, it was announced that “Crying in H Mart” will be adapted as a feature film.

\"PHOTO:
Scott Dudelson/Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: Singer Michelle Zauner of the band's Japanese Breakfast and Little Big League performs on the Gobi stage during week 1, day 3 of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 15, 2018 in Indio, California.
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Zauner said she was glad that her story has been able to resonate with so many people.

“I never thought as a half-Korean American woman that my life was particularly literary,” said she. “And so it's really beautiful that people are able to come into this story, from all different backgrounds and really see themselves in me in different ways.”

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