Japanese Breakfast Star Opens Up About How Loss Changed Her Perspective On Connecting With Others

Michelle Zauner opened up about how losing her mother changed her perspective on grief, love and connecting with others.

The author, songwriter, and lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Japanese Breakfast, previously spoke with Minnie Driver about "the loss of their mothers, shares how cooking takes her out of her head, and recalls childhood memories of sneaking through a fence to the Willamette River on an episode of Minnie Questions with Minnie Driver." In a vulnerable moment on the podcast, Zauner shared that the loss of her mother impacted the relationship she had with her father, and her outlook on family. The grief unexpectedly led her to a renewed sense of compassion and connecting with other people.

"My whole family just dissolves when my mom passed away. My dad moved to Thailand and we don't speak anymore. And, you know, this person that represented my entire family is gone, but lives on in me in this new way," she said during the podcast. She also reflected, "I have a much deeper sense of compassion to other people. It was almost like I was invited into this new club. I didn't want to be part of it. …When you just know that someone has gone through that, your understanding and your feelings of closeness to a person really alters after you go through something like that."

Find the full episode of Minnie Questions with Minnie Driver here.