This is such a challenging but beautifully crafted autobiography of a first gen Korean American woman who struggles with finding her own voice as well as her own motivations. Told across her early childhood days in Texas through to finding her new life and career in the big city, she unravels a complex relationship that she has with her own family, mental health, and relationships.

The writing was great and the content was interesting. I personally had a difficult time staying invested in this as it dealt with many topics I couldn’t relate to, but I can definitely see this being a new breakout memoir. The voice was a bit monotone and young for me in parts, and I liked DNF this

Unflinchingly honest and captivating from start to finish. I normally don’t give memoirs star ratings because my opinions don’t matter in regard to someone else’s story but this was phenomenal. You can feel Song’s pain, personality and emotional intelligence grow from page to page in unison. As heartbreaking as much of this story was, it also offers hope. I am still in awe that this was a memoir.

What a truly amazing memoir about a first generation, Korean American as she experiences finding her own voice, mental health, and family dynamics. I appreciated how the book was segmented in pivotal moments from her childhood in Texas into her adulthood in bigger cities. You could really hear her voice in the writing, which was so beautiful and poignant. Highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC!

This is such a challenging but beautifully crafted autobiography of a first gen Korean American woman who struggles with finding her own voice as well as her own motivations. Told across her early childhood days in Texas through to finding her new life and career in the big city, she unravels a complex relationship that she has with her own family, mental health, and relationships.

Beautifully written and poignant; definitely a good book to recommend to those who love Crying in H Mart or Minor Feelings.

Many thanks to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the galley and opportunity to read and share my thoughts on this gem.

This is an extremely vulnerable and beautifully written memoir. Song captures her life experiences and struggles in a way that really pulls you in and enables you to feel her emotions. So much so, that I do caution readers to take care when reading and be mindful of content warnings: depression, mental illness, suicidal thoughts and attempts are all discussed.

Very impactful read.

I only wished for a bit more at the end to describe more of the circumstances of her present life.

Ratings
Quality of Writing 5/5
Value for Intended Audience 5/5
Pacing 4/5
Vulnerability 5/5
Overall Enjoyability 5/5

Searingly honest and beautifully written, one wonders how the author could have ever been anything else than what she is today. But... parents and culture intervene, as does unrecognized illness. The book is both a tribute and a warning on all that surrounds and impacts us. Yet one wonders if her journey wasn't perhaps necessary to get to where she is today and/or whether she isn't just that kind of amazing persona who would accomplish anything and thrive in any field.

All good questions and a book that raises questions in your mind as you read is a winner. The writing is also just so damn good. She can describe anything and her words keep you 100% engaged. This is the kind of book that should be read in college classrooms and discussed widely. Not just for Korean-Americans, not just for Asian-Americans!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I want to watch it soar to the top of the New York Times best seller list!

I absolutely adored the writing style and the emotions that the author was able to invoke throughout this entire book. Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review this book, I can’t wait to read what Hyeseung writes next.

I appreciated how straight forward the memoir was. It was really was about her life and not focuses around a single (often tragic in this genre) event. I am a nosy person which is why I read memoirs in the first place and I enjoyed that aspect a lot. Some memoirs are very focused which no doubt makes them more marketable and probably easier to write but this really gave an insight in how it was actually be her and live her life.

I read half of this book but then stopped. It didn't hold my interest any longer. Hyeseung was just too needy. I've also learned that YA novels aren't really for me.

So well written the author draws us in sharing with us her parents difficulties her life as the child of immigrant immigrants.As in H Mart this is an emotional moving memoir that follows the author’s determination and strength and determination to succeed.#netgalley #simon&schuster

This is more self-reflection than review:

Hyeseung Song's Docile exists somewhere between reality and complete fiction for me. Having lived in Texas since I was a child, I can empathize with her setting but only to a certain degree. As a frequent visitor to Bellaire, I cannot escape the guilt I feel infiltrating this community that was built on struggle and necessity.

In all honesty, the commodification of a culture is what lead me to this book. Before requesting a copy, the description stood out to me.This book would give me everything I wanted in one story: Texas, Korea, artist, mental health, Catholic guilt, a father seemingly undeserving of the mother. That has been the problem. It isn't just a story; this is another person's story. Again, in recounting her life, Hyeseung Song has forced me to reflect on my own experiences and how I move through shared spaces while experiencing a wildly different life.

If, like me, someone was led to this book because of some personal interest, I hope the reader can step back, bathe in the full experience, and respectfully just sit in the story and let the author say her piece.

This will be a book I gift to others. My friends in Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, and elsewhere WILL be getting copies. For many, this memoir will be a mirror and offer some safety and comfort in their lived experiences.

I cannot pretend to understand such a life, but I hope to practice gentleness when confronted others.

Docile is a candid depiction of Song's experience as a Korean American woman, fighting at each stage of her life to subvert the mountain of expectations placed upon her by her family, her suburban Texas upbringing, and her Ivy League education, Song's continued perseverance to live authentically and artistically is inspiring.

A good memoir that shows the highs and lows of life similar to Crying in H mart. I just loved the prose and the compelling story. 4 stars.

5++++ STARS!!

First of all, thank you so much to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Hyeseung Song for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this so much, it is hard to put into words, but I will attempt to do so....

Docile is the beautifully written and compelling memoir of Hyeseung Song, a first generation Korean American artist. Although her story is completely unique, it is also achingly familiar. At many times while reading this, I was transported back to that strange time of adolescence and early adulthood - navigating difficult parental relationships, trying to fit in, and searching for worth.

As she walks us through her life, Song explores many aspects of the human experience, including mental illness, racism, sexism, elitism, love, etc., but with a unique perspective that I haven't seen before. She rebels against stereotypes by illuminating the depth and subtlety to all the characters in her story.

Song describes the highs and lows of her life in a variety of ways. Sometimes it is intellectual, where she gives us the facts and the leeway to evaluate them however we see fit. At other times it is deeply emotional, raw, and vulnerable, and it is like we are living the memory with her. At other times, it is almost poetry. In every case there is a sense that an intentional choice was made, and it all comes together perfectly.

It is a wild ride - I was laughing out loud and choking up with tears and loving every minute - but it ends on a profoundly hopeful note. I hope that Hyeseung Song writes and publishes more books in the future!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!

What an amazing memoir!

This is being marketed as reminiscent of "Crying in H Mart" and "Minari," and while I love both of those, I think the comparison does a disservice to "Docile." This is a book without a hook, which may sound like a criticism, but I think it actually reflects Hyeseung Song’s authorial strengths. Memoirs are often built and marketed around something like a family scandal, a traumatic experience, or the dissolution or redemption of a painful relationship. I appreciate these books, but I think they often play into reductionist conclusions about identity as the author sets up a single problem to solve by the end of the book. Song doesn’t do that here, instead writing a more straightforward account that illuminates how un-straightforward life really is. It works because life is rarely defined by heartache yet often disrupted by it.

The approach allows Song to write freely about so many intersecting themes without placing them in an artificial hierarchy, and the end result is a book that displays a well-warranted confidence. Without any other “gimmick,” this is a memoir that fails or succeeds on the strength of its voice, and every sentence feels perfectly sculpted for its purpose. Song’s sensibilities as a visual artist shine through, and for being such an interior-facing book, "Docile" is remarkably sensorial in its descriptions. At one point, the author writes that art makes her feel “entirely essential,” and I think that’s a good way to summarize the book as a whole—Song writes with an intuitive hand, and every beautiful phrase confirms that this book needs to exist.

I often finish memoirs and wish there was more to them, but this is the rare one where I instead wished there was more of it. To be clear, the book does not feel incomplete by any means, but all of its strengths made me want to immediately read a follow-up. In particular, Song’s exploration of her relationship to art feels like the prelude to a second book (Please!!), and her sensitivity to visual language recognizes that the strength of a story is in how it’s told. I hope she tells many more!