Review of I Decided to Live as Me – A Book That Taught Me Self-Care Isn’t Selfish

Review of I Decided to Live as Me

Why should you pick this book?

I was in the middle of a raging viral epidemic. Everyone in town seemed sick. The OPD was overflowing, and hospital beds stayed full.

One day, a patient came for follow-up. He had just been discharged after battling the same illness. He felt better, but weak. I advised him to rest for a week before returning to work. I also signed a medical certificate for him.

As I signed it, a thought struck me.

A few days earlier, I had caught the same virus. The workload was crushing. My meals, sleep, and exercise had all fallen apart. No surprise—I fell sick.

But unlike my patient, I barely rested. I took two days off, and even then, I still went for rounds. My body ached, but I returned to full work right after. I needed medicine just to keep going.

Here’s the dilemma: while I urged my patients to rest and heal, I refused to give myself the same care. Why? Because guilt weighed heavier than illness.

And I know this isn’t only a doctor’s struggle. Many of us face this clash between duty to others and duty to ourselves. In families and societies where collective duty outweighs individuality, the pressure can feel suffocating.

That’s where this book steps in. It gives us permission to choose ourselves—without guilt.

What does ‘I Decided to Live as Me’ offer?

This inner conflict isn’t new. In the Mahabharata, even Arjuna wrestled with duty versus self. Krishna guided him through that dark hour.

Many books tackle this problem. But most deep philosophical reading is dense. The lessons take real effort to use in daily life.

This book is different. It offers simple lessons without fancy jargon. The author shares personal stories that click instantly. Each story teaches you to live more fully—not necessarily more happily.

The book gives you permission to:

• Live as yourself
• Be selfish sometimes
• Stay imperfect
• Make mistakes

It shows you that being ordinary is okay. You don’t need to feel guilty about it.

Reading insights

This is a quick, easy read. It took me five hours to finish. The language is simple—no dictionary needed.

Each chapter is short. You can finish one in 3-4 minutes.

The book moves fast, but here’s my advice: pause after each chapter. Think about it. Does it match your life? What can you change to improve your situation?

The chapters are bite-sized for a reason. They’re meant to digest slowly.

About The Author (From Penguin Random House)

Kim Suhyun is a writer and illustrator based in Seoul. She loves drawing, so in college she studied design. She describes herself as “thoughtful but not too serious, light-hearted but not shallow.” Her books have sold more than two million copies in Korea, and I Decided to Live as Me is being published around the world in more than a dozen languages.

My Favorite Quotes

“The truly fatal blow to our dignity isn’t the mistreatment we endure but how humiliatingly we respond to it.” (Kim Suhyun and Anton Hur, I Decided to Live as Me)

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“EVEN IF WE CAN’T CHANGE THE SITUATION, WE NEED TO PUSH BACK A LITTLE TO PROTECT OUR DIGNITY FROM THE WORST KIND OF PEOPLE.” (Kim Suhyun and Anton Hur, I Decided to Live as Me)

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“DON’T GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO MAKE YOURSELF MISERABLE.” (Kim Suhyun and Anton Hur, I Decided to Live as Me)

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“WHAT IS TRULY IMPORTANT IN LIFE CANNOT BE EXPRESSED IN NUMBERS.” (Kim Suhyun and Anton Hur, I Decided to Live as Me)

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“I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT IN A WORLD WHERE PEOPLE DO NOTHING BUT ATTACK ONE ANOTHER, NO ONE CAN EVER BE HAPPY.” (Kim Suhyun and Anton Hur, I Decided to Live as Me)

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“As many have said, the opposite of love isn’t hate or rage but indifference. Similarly, the opposite of living isn’t death or aging—it’s delusion.” (Kim Suhyun and Anton Hur, I Decided to Live as Me)

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“ONLY IN ACHIEVING ACCEPTANCE CAN ONE TRULY BECOME AN ADULT.” (Kim Suhyun and Anton Hur, I Decided to Live as Me)

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“We are educated away from thinking we are special and from prioritizing our own feelings and instead are told to lower ourselves and pay more attention to the feelings of others.” (Kim Suhyun and Anton Hur, I Decided to Live as Me)

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“THE PERSON YOU SHOULD RESPECT MOST IS ALWAYS YOURSELF.” (Kim Suhyun and Anton Hur, I Decided to Live as Me)

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“But true virtue is in respecting others, not diminishing ourselves to the point of feeling worthless. If you worry about what others think at the expense of your own feelings, surely there’s no virtue in that.” (Kim Suhyun and Anton Hur, I Decided to Live as Me)

Get this book

You can buy here I Decided to Live as Me – How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others So You Can Learn to Love Yourself