Milk and Honey

Written by Rupi Kaur

Narrated by Rupi Kaur

From Rupi Kaur, the top ten Sunday Times-bestselling author, comes the beautiful audio edition of milk and honey, her debut poetry collection. Read to you by the author, milk and honey is a book about surivival, love, loss and femininity. milk and honey takes you on a journey of of hurting, loving, breaking and healing. Listen to Rupi Kaur's incredible poetry, in her own words. 

this is the journey of
suriving through poetry
this is the blood sweat tears
of twenty-one years
this is my heart
in your hands
this is
the hurting
the loving
the breaking
the healing

- rupi kaur

Praise for Sunday Times bestseller milk and honey:

‘Kaur is at the forefront of a poetry renaissance’ Observer
‘Kaur made her name with poems about love, life and grief. They resonate hugely’ Sunday Times
‘Poems tackling feminism, love, trauma and healing in short lines as smooth as pop music’ New York Times
‘Caught the imagination of a large, atypical poetry audience…Kaur knows the good her poetry does: it saves lives’ Evening Standard
‘Breathing new life into poetry…It has people reading, and listening’ The Pool  
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio UK
• Release date: Aug 3, 2017
• ISBN: 9781471170560

Rupi Kaur

A breakout literary phenomenon and #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Rupi Kaur wrote, illustrated, and self-published her first poetry collection milk and honey in 2014. Next came its artistic siblings the sun and her flowers and home body, both debuting at #1 on bestseller lists across the world. These collections have sold more than 11 million copies and have been translated into over 43 languages. In 2022, she released her fourth book Healing Through Words which is a journey of guided writing exercises to help the reader explore their creativity. As she has done from the very beginning, Rupi self-produced Rupi Kaur Live, the first poetry special of its kind, which debuted on Amazon Prime Video in 2021. Rupi Kaur graces stages across the globe on sold-out world tours. These shows are a poetic theatrical experience interlaced with her own touch of stand-up. Her work touches on love, loss, trauma, healing, femininity, and migration. She feels most at home when creating art, performing her poetry onstage, and spending time with family and friends.

Reviews for Milk and Honey

[crayonss · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I just felt like the author was a bit full of herself I struggled to stay focused and when I was I just didn’t think this was that good. I’m definitely disappointed.

[Charlotte Jones · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this on a whim on Scribd and I feel like this is a better listen than it would have been to read physically.

Read by the author herself, the emotions really came across in the way she spoke and at the beginning the themes were really tough. However, this quickly became repetitive. A lot of the poems, particularly towards the end of the book, were just a few words each. This has confirmed my dislike for this style of modern poetry. I didn't feel like this needed to be a 200 page book. As I said, the poems at the beginning were impactful but it all went downhill from there. I would not recommend this.

[petroglyph_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is one of those books that are decidedly not for me. Many of these poems just came across as standard motivational poster material, pseudo-deep quotes from anime you see in online forum signatures, or loose thoughts with artificial breaks to mimic the look of poetry. I thought the sentiments expressed were trite and teenagery, though they are expressed with the intensity of someone feeling things for the very first time, someone finally finding words to express them. I’ll give a few examples of what I’m talking about, and I’ll quote the poems in full. Here’s one from p. 87: it must hurt to knowi am your mostbeautifulregretAnd here is another (p. 93): i am a museum full of artbut you had your eyes shutAnd another (p. 88): i didn’t leave becausei stopped loving youi left because the longeri stayed the lessi loved myselfI’m sorry to say that this does not qualify as poetry to me. Deepities and cheap sentiment, yes. Poetry? Not so much. In general, I thought Kaur’s writings do way too much telling, and way too little showing, like in this poem from p. 118: i don’t know whyi split myself openfor others knowingsewing myself uphurts this muchafterwardOr this one from p. 155: there is a difference betweensomeone telling youthey love you andthem actuallyloving youAnd this one from p. 158: removing all the hairoff your body is okayif that’s what you want to dojust as much as keeping all the hairon your body is okayif that’s what you want to do- you belong only to yourself Too many poems in this book are like that: straightforward telling with artificial line breaks and not enough showing. Only occasionally did Kaur hit upon a striking non-trite image or a progression of images that went at least part of the way there, such as in this poem (p. 31): when my mother opens her mouthto have a conversation at dinnermy father shoves the word hushbetween her lips and tells her tonever speak with her mouth fullthis is how the women in my familylearned to live with their mouths closedSadly, I thought poems like these were too few and far between. The ones I liked best were about female sexuality and surviving sexual abuse: those are topics I haven’t read much poetry about, and that’s where Kaur’s directness seemed almost touching. So yeah. Direct and heart-felt these writings may be, I thought they were trite and full of teen pain and not very poetry-like. But like I said at the start, I am not part of the target audience, which is teenage girls, and that is really all there is to it. I hope they, at least, get something out of it.

[bradford · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Is this what they’re calling ‘poetry’ now? Sounds like a stream of teen angst that should have been kept in someone’s journal rather than being mass marketed.

[Deepak Chawla · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing poetry by Rupi. Big fan of her and will listen again and again and again.

[Bassiie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Written so beautifully and with such poise. Loved it! ❤

[Josh Phindi Molefe · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My niece recommended this one. &Tbh, I've been avoiding this book for years... When I listened, I remembered why. It was sad, uncomfortable and yet beautiful. There's something special that comes with sitting with someone else's experiences- seeing beauty even when it's unpretty & sourcing your own life from its presence without trying to cower from it all. Would I read it again? Maybe...I think I might revisit some pages if I or a friend were going through a less than ideal relationship patch.

[Deon Cecile · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is my first audio poetry book. Actually I believe it's my first poetry books.

There are instances where I enjoyed the play on words and the rawness of the writing. I couldn't, however, come to grips with how it was being read. Although that could be because it's poetry and I'm not use to it. Good thing is, it was relatively short.

[jessicadelellis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So this was as good as people said it was. I always have a hard time reviewing poetry and putting what I think about them into words, but what I can say is that I really liked the drawings. I liked how the sketches supplemented the poems. They took the poems to another level because they seemed so candid, honest, and effortless.

[Danielle Allen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this book a few years ago but the audio book is amazing. The fact that Rupi Kaur narrates it.. makes you feel all the emotions she must have felt while writing it. I would recommend to anyone if you have read the book go listen to the audio book!

[Alberto Kathleen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I thought it’s about love, but wow that was deep. It’s personal experience about abuse

[Shalane Du Preez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Have not really been into poetry per say.. But this was such a powerful listen ❤️❤️❤️

[grlintrrptdrdng · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful poems about being a woman, love, abuse, sexuality, and pain. Quick read, most of the poems are short, but very powerful.

[CalientaNellyJaya · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It felt very similar to quotes I have seen online. Some poems were really good though. I rated three stars because it's not her finest work.

[Chiamaka Ehiem · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love the way the words flowed out and I love how relatable it is.

[Abubakar Ango · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Truly it's not about how people loves your art, it's about how your heart loves your art. Awesome work of art in all the seven chapters.

[carmacreator · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

i think this might actually be my favourite book. it's very sweet and simple. don't expect long complicated poems.

i think it's a book that suits the people who relate to it. it's a personal journey. i can see why some won't like it, but i loved it.

i would recommend it for later teens to young twenties. i would also recommend it for those who know they like poetry.

[Emefa Anka · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My second time reading Rupi’s poems. I liked this one more! Raw and honest!

[virago77 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was just everything. Rupi Kaur gives everything in this book. There is beauty and ugliness, sweetness and sadness, pain and healing. This book makes you feel happy, sad, angry, empowered, and thoughtful all at once. I can see myself in these pages. I can see people I know in these pages. I am reading friends, loved ones, people I love, and hate; people I miss and those I see everyday. I see the author in these words, and she is beautiful and brilliant.Read this book.Poetry is a fairly new thing I'm exploring and this book has helped me to appreciate and love it a little more.

[Alexandra Ungureanu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is less said amazing. It’s like you feel everything at a level so deep, that you start transforming, like a metamorphosis.

[Waldo Cereceda Rios · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow, took my breath away. I felt with Rupi the whole book, thank you so much for this blessing.
Thank you for sharing your heart with us.

[Samiah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Had always loved this from the moment I saw it❤❤ finally I'll read/listen this 1000 times if I could!

[lucaconti-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing! I have no other words

[Menna El-Baz · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Reading this book is way better than listening to it

[vivian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow didn’t expect this to be powerful. Short and powerful... I need to read it daily

[Fube Kelvin Bwalya · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was a great book. Thoroughly enjoyed this. Very thought provoking.

[fatmashahin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

i am water
soft enough
to offer life
tough enough
to drown it away

Milk and Honey is a beautiful book of poetry. That's really the beginning and the end of it. Some of its poems left me almost in tears. Some made me smile. Some made me go damn. All of them touched me.

It doesn't matter if you find these poems "relatable" or not. There's just something so special and sobering about having someone's innermost thoughts and feelings all laid out on a page for you to read.

[Ionut Mirel AIONITOAE · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful voice but the content bored me to death... what a commercial cliché!

[Dee Oncker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Short, sharp and beautifully articulated. I needed to read this 25 years ago.

[Kayla Raiti · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved the book! Very deep thoughts in the poems.