As the year comes to a close, I am excited to share my top book recommendations for the year. What brings me joy is that every year there are a number of Asian diaspora writers and stories that touch on mental health. As an Asian American psychologist committed to exploring diverse perspectives and fostering mental wellness, these selections resonated with me in different ways. One of my picks is from a Native writer and not an AAPI writer but the messages of that book are relevant to many other communities.

Here are my top five picks:

1. I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki: A Memoir by Baek Sehee

This book was a best-seller in South Korea and is translated into English by Anton Hur. It was quite the phenomenon in South Korea. It was even recommended by BTS’ RM, which likely played a role in its global popularity. As far as memoirs go, it’s a little unusual because it’s not a chronological narrative of the author’s life. Rather, it’s based on recordings of therapy sessions the author had with her therapist. There’s a type of voyeurism here that I think is part of the attraction. We get to be a fly on the wall of someone else’s therapy sessions, a rare privilege. Of course, I could be biased because I do therapy for a living and find it riveting! Although I did not find the therapist’s responses to be intuitive to me, a psychologist trained in the U.S., it was a novel glimpse into someone’s else work in a totally different sociocultural context. The title drew my interest instantly, not just because I love tteokbokki, rice cakes in a sweet and spicy sauce. The title itself refers to a mental health intervention in which we think of all the things that give us joy and pleasure—in essence, the things we live for. I would certainly count tteokbokki among my reasons for living.

The author’s concerns and anxieties are so relatable. One of my favorite moments in the book is when the author comments:

I wonder about others like me, who seem totally fine on the outside but are rotting on the inside, where the rot is this vague state of being not-fine and not-devastated at the same time.

It’s an apt description of the mild to moderate depression that operates in the background for the author (who is diagnosed with Persistent Depressive Disorder). And it’s also maybe one of the best expressions of the existential dread and anxiety we all feel from time to time. Major Jean-Paul Sartre vibes!

2. Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans by Jenny Wang

This insightful self-help book by Taiwanese-American clinical psychologist Jenny Wang really helped me. It provided validation and normalization. This book made me feel seen, heard, understood, and honored. I recommend it often to my clients. It is a must-read for Asian Americans because it so accurately captures the complexities of mental health within the Asian American and child-of-immigrants experience. I especially appreciated Dr. Wang’s discussion of boundaries as a way to not just set limits but to preserve relationships with people you care about. I find myself echoing these words in session with clients who are struggling in their intergenerational relationships. Each section of the book explores an experience that is often fraught or goes unspoken in Asian communities. Examples include “Permission to Take Up Space,” “Permission to Fail,” and “Permission to Grieve.” This book provides guidance around the idea of “home” for Asian Americans, which can be difficult to identify because we occupy a liminal space between two countries and cultures, between two generations.

3. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

This is a satirical novel about a young white author who steals her deceased Asian friend's manuscript and publishes it as her own. The book's themes include cultural appropriation, racial identity, and who has the right to tell certain stories. It’s a page-turner with lots of twists and turns. It has quite a dark streak but in moments that I thought were getting creepy, I didn’t have to wait too long before something cartoonish provided levity. The book masterfully lampoons the publishing industry and the rarefied world of writers. As the spouse of a writer and creative writing professor, it was gratifying to see such unflattering depictions of agents, publishers, and of course, egotistical writers. While the novel doesn’t relate directly to mental health, it does explore what it really means to live a lie, even when doing so provides many rewards. In this story, the protagonist’s success depends on maintaining a lie but in the process, she loses sight of who she really is and the line between the lie and the truth gets disturbingly blurry.

4. The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

This is a novel that explores the interconnected lives of its characters through the lens of a young multiracial boy named Benny Oh. Benny starts hearing voices emanating from inanimate objects around him after the death of his father. This unique ability or challenge, depending on one's perspective, becomes a central theme of the story. The narrative weaves together Benny's experiences with the lives of other characters, creating a tapestry that delves into themes of loss, grief, and the search for meaning. The title itself suggests a philosophical exploration from Buddhism, which suggests the impermanent nature of existence and the lack of a singular, coherent self. The book encourages readers to reflect on the nature of existence, the impact of loss, and the ways in which individuals navigate their own paths to understanding and healing. As an Asian American psychologist, what I find so rich in this book are the depictions of voice hearing, hoarding, interracial relationships, and being bicultural/biracial.

As the story progresses, Benny starts to spend a lot of time in a local library, where the books start talking to him. One of the most moving things they say is the following:

Every person is trapped in their own particular bubble of delusion, and it's every person's task in life to break free. Books can help. We can make the past into the present, take you back in time and help you remember. We can show you things, shift your realities and widen your world, but the work of waking up is up to you.

This idea deeply resonated with me. I interpreted “waking up” in a few different ways. In the context of this story, Benny needed to wake up from his delusion and hallucination in order to heal and move forward in life. But we all have the developmental task of “waking up”—from the dreams and scripts others have handed down to us, from the fallacy that work is fulfillment and identity. When I read this line, I recalled the first Matrix movie, when they first show all these people in bathtubs with gear on their heads that connect them to the Matrix and they believe they’re living these lives that they’re actually not living. It made me think about my first time going to therapy which was a type of “waking up" that helped me see I was so much more than others’ expectations and projections.

5. Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day by Kaitlin B. Curtice

This book is written by Native/Potawatomi writer Kaitlin B. Curtice, whom I didn’t know until this book popped up in my local library. I’m interested in reading more from her. The tone of this book is gentle and non-judgmental. The book is divided into four different realms: the personal, the communal, the ancestral, and the integral. Curtice weaves in personal anecdotes and examples to help illustrate her guidance around self-care. There are diagrams and journaling prompts to guide you through extra reflection and self-work. I most appreciated its focus on connecting with the body and resting.