The Book Playlist That Shaped Chrysanthemum Tea
Instead of a Spotify playlist, here is a book playlist that inspired my song Chrysanthemum Tea.
These stories all circle around mothers, daughters, and sisters, and the love, grief, silence, and tenderness we carry between us. They held me while I was writing this song, and shaped the world it grew from.
Swipe through to see the books that are in conversation with the song:
The books:
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner — a raw memoir of grief and a daughter’s complex bond with her mother, centred around Korean food.
A Woman’s Story by Annie Ernaux — spare and powerful, a daughter mourning her mother’s life and death.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong — a son’s lyrical and poetic letter to his illiterate mother, layered with grief and tenderness.
We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama — a story about Tibetan refugees navigating displacement, survival, and the longing to return to ancestral lands.
When We Were Sisters by Fatimah Asghar — a lyrical novel on sisterhood and finding family in each other.
What books about mothers or sisters have stayed with you? Share them below — I’d love to add to my list. 💛
Listen to Chrysanthemum Tea: kashin.hearnow.com/chrysanthemum-tea