Author: Baek Se-Hee

Year of Publication: 20th June 2018

Like a typical review I am not going to give it a star rating based on the plot, characters, writing etc, reason being, that it is a memoir, it is not a made up fiction, but a true conversation between author and her psychiatrist.

BUY HERE

Plot:

“Psychiatrist: So how can i help you?

Me: Well, I think I’m slightly depressed. Should I go into more detail?”

This is a South Korean bestseller where the author is sharing her conversation with her therapist. I think it was really courageous of the author to share her intimate conversation with the readers. Author was motivated to write this memoir because while she was struggling with her mental health, she tried finding a lot of answers online (like most of us would do). To her surprise she couldnt find anything online that explicitly addresses the feelings that she was going through.

When this uneasiness started impact her life she planned on visiting a psychiatrist and shared all her conversations, in her blog. We are living in a time where every second person we know is depressed, and mental health is not a topic of discussion because of the stigma attached to it.

When the author finally started writing about her conversation, there was a vast online audience in Korea that resonated with her and were struggling through the same thoughts that she had shared. Many people would wait for her to update something about her journey so far, henceforth this novel.

What I liked about the book?

Author and psychiatrist had discussed about many issues like:

• Authors need of telling lies to get sympathies from people.
• Feeling under constant surveillance
• Desire to become special
• Self esteem
• Judging others, being a victim of someone’s judgment, how it results into disappointments
• Obsession with appearances
• Constant urge to be best and to be the most loved person around

and more.

While this book discusses all these topics it also highlights the importance of speaking to a professional when facing a mental issue like depression. It is of course a long term process, & you might not get results immediately but it is definitely worth it to open your heart to a person who is ready to listen and guide you best. This book will give you a view on how a therapy session is conducted in Korea. At times the therapist did not share complete details on medications with author which is weird. Ideally he should have shared reasons why he is prescribing certain medications and what would the side effects be.

Who should read this?

If you are looking for some excitement and some fast paced story, please do not pick this one. Understand that this is a memoir, a conversation between author and her psychiatrist. It might look repetitive at times because author needs a lot of reassurance on her progress. But that’s how therapy is right?

Pick up this book, if you want to understand the issues that the author has mentioned in her memoir and delve in the solutions that psychiatrist provides.

Final Verdict

Yes, this is worth reading.