Christina | readingthroughatlanta's Reviews > A Living Remedy: A Memoir

T/W: Death of Parents

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Reminiscent of Crying in H Mart, A Living Remedy is told by Korean American adoptee Nicole Chung who grew up in Oregon to a working class white family. A Living Remedy is her memoir as she shares with us her experience of being the only person of color in her life growing up, facing her parents decline as their precarious financial situation lended them no favors medically, and navigating a pandemic affected world while in the process of grief.

I found this book utterly gripping and accessible.

Chung's love for her parents is felt immediately from the very first chapter that left me with goosebumps. Her ability to interweave conversations about race, class, and religion specifically in the Pacific North West and personally is absorbing and relevant.

This is truly a quietly beautiful book about yes, the love between family but also the everyday anxieties we face and how our society doesn't necessarily do much to ease them. There aren't many big moments or controversial proclamations but quiet and profound anecdotes that we can all relate to on some level.

It isn't linear and it moves fluidly as a thought, but it is steadfast in its message and I hope readers give this one a chance.

Thank you Ecco Books for a gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.