What “Milk and Honey” Taught Us

Rupi Kaur, Canadian poet and author of “Milk and Honey,” slays honest and relatable themes in her first book released in 2014.  Although her prose has sometimes been made fun of, her work can teach every college girl something valuable and real. Four chapters—the hurting, the loving, the breaking and the healing—provide the framework for her story.   They give us important insight into the life of a 21-year-old girl, the age Kaur was when she wrote it.

Follow along while Valley reminisces on Kaur’s best as we wait to get out hands on what she calls the ‘second birth’ entitled “The Sun and Her Flowers,” which came out yesterday.  You can order her new book here. 

Hurting

Kaur shares powerful words about the pain she has personally dealt with in her 21 years—pain that we are sometimes afraid to talk about.  Her voice is heard as she speaks her mind and gets it all out there.  Profound concepts about hurting are ones we can all identify with.

Loving

The chapter on love gives an idea of hope that love will find us all.  Kaur shows that love is greater than any form of pain she has felt and that it will grant moments of clarity in times of chaos.  Her sincere grasp on loving another is rooted in her attempt to share with the reader just how great it will be when you find them.

Breaking

By writing these poems Kaur puts a passionate voice to notions nobody is talking about, especially in her breaking chapter.  These are ideas everyone is thinking, but no one is saying.  The vulnerability within these pages is important for the reader to understand they aren’t the only one feeling the way they are.

Healing

Pulling it all together, the healing chapter sheds light on better days and encourages the reader to keep going.  Kaur demands that women value themselves as more than they ever have before, and to realize that this moment is small.  She closes by bringing it back to love and emphasizing that “nothing even matters/ except love and human connection.”

Valley learned powerful ideas from “Milk and Honey” and we know you will too.  Tweet us @ValleyMag your favorite poem from this book or her new one coming soon!