milk and honey

milk and honey by Rupi Kaur
Published by Create Space on Nov. 4, 2014
Genre(s): Nonfiction, Poetry, Feminism
Format: Paperback
Pages: 204

Goodreads synopsis: 

milk and honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. It is about the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity. It is split into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose, deals with a different pain, heals a different heartache. milk and honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.

I read some of the reviews on goodreads and felt disappointed that people would dismiss this woman's work so quickly because they didn't personally resonate with her words, so I decided to check it out for myself.

Many of the negative reviews seemed unfair to me, but maybe I don't understand because the book did speak to me on a personal level. Regardless, I'm not an expert on this style of writing, but I still believe that this collection was brave and raw and just real. It put words to feelings that many young men and women may be feeling but are unable to express.

It's hard to summarize these feelings into one review since some of the pieces were so vastly different, and I hate to give excerpts as they would essentially be spoiling the book. I'll just say that I really enjoyed reading Rupi Kaur's words accompanied by her exquisite sketches, and page after page, I was so glad that I picked up her book. Her journey through poetry and prose was tragic and beautiful and I look forward to reading it again.

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We Should All Be Feminists

We Should All Be Feminists by Ngozi Chimamanda Adichie
Published by Vintage on Jul. 29, 2014
Genre(s): , Nonfiction, , Feminism, Essays
Format: Paperback
Pages: 49

Goodreads synopsis: 

What does “feminism” mean today? That is the question at the heart of We Should All Be Feminists, a personal, eloquently-argued essay—adapted from her much-viewed TEDx talk of the same name—by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the award-winning author of Americanah and Half of a Yellow Sun. 

With humor and levity, here Adichie offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century—one rooted in inclusion and awareness. She shines a light not only on blatant discrimination, but also the more insidious, institutional behaviors that marginalize women around the world, in order to help readers of all walks of life better understand the often masked realities of sexual politics. Throughout, she draws extensively on her own experiences—in the U.S., in her native Nigeria, and abroad—offering an artfully nuanced explanation of why the gender divide is harmful for women and men, alike. 

Argued in the same observant, witty and clever prose that has made Adichie a bestselling novelist, here is one remarkable author’s exploration of what it means to be a woman today—and an of-the-moment rallying cry for why we should all be feminists. 

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