Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

Rupi Kaur is a Canadian writer, poet, and illustrator. At 25 she has already crafted this astounding book of an extensive collection of poems focusing on various themes like loss, love, depression, abuse, violence, and femininity.

The structure of this book is set out to explore parts of Rupi Kaur's life. Starting with her childhood, relationship with her family, and how it has affected her mental health. There are actually four sections of the book: the hurting, the loving, the breaking, and the healing. I've seen this in a few other poetry books recently and the structure is a good way to give the reader (and writer) a breather.

 Kaur's writing style, to me, feels very free. Easy to read. Some poetry you'll find is just too much to take in and difficult to stay concentrated on, but this isn't the case for Kaur's. I find that the flow of her writing is smooth but demanding, it makes you hungry for more. You will find yourself unable to put it down and reading into the night. She balances short, impactful poems, with longer extracts filled with unyielding emotion.

When reading this book I feel like I need to be careful and protective. There is a heart and soul literally in the lines of this book, spilling the life of Rupi Kaur. But it's also something a lot of readers may feel personally connected to. It covers topics that many people will have experienced, and it's not sugar-coated. But it's also therapy. The last section the healing, felt refreshing and as if you could breathe again. It truly does uplight and heal you, and ends on positive notes.

I usually find that poetry books are too small. I finish them in less than an hour. But milk and honey is a generous size, with over 200 pages. So there is definitely enough content to satisfy you readers. The illustrations are simple, yet powerful. They keep balance on the page, so you still focus on the poetry but have a little art to bring it together. This is also something I think added to the flow of the book.

In conclusion, Rupi Kaur is an artist. Her words are more than beautiful. If you haven't bought this book yet, then go on Amazon and get it right now. I can't recommend it enough, it has inspired my own writing and has given me the reading rhythm I need to start delving into more books. She already has a second one 'the sun and her flowers' that I plan on reviewing soon.