January Highly Recommended Read

This month’s recommended book is a poetry collection Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur, a top ten Sunday Times-bestselling author and very talented illustrator of two collections of poetry.

I came across this book while browsing titles in my local Waterstones before our mental health monthly book club.

I read a few pages and simply loved the poignancy of her writing. Rupi’s poems are raw, wise, short and incredibly powerful. They will engage the reader viscerally, mentally and emotionally. I expect the second volume is just as incredible although I have not read through it yet.

3 reasons to read Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

1. It combines visual illustrations and words in a highly effective manner

This is an incredibly powerful way to engage the left and right brain hemispheres, and it shows. Many people I see in my practice have suffered some pain or disappointment in their lives but may not always know how to access the words to tell that story and begin to heal. Instead, they live with their wounds which leak out and rob them of healthy relationships and wellbeing.

I see this collection as an excellent aid to help one connect with a fuller range of human emotions.

2. The range of themes in this volume

Our lives bring us countless opportunities for rapture, delight, and sorrow. Often while in the midst of what’s happening to us, we may forget that our action or inaction also impacts others in incredibly powerful ways.

Reading these poems will help readers discover and consider a wide range of situations they may or may not directly relate with, but can nonetheless grow from as partners, parents, friends, and human beings.

3. It raises a question about what we mean by poetry and challenges the form

I have coached a poet once and my partner writes poetry which is longer and more developed in form. I also love going to poetry readings although I do this far too infrequently these days. Many of the writings in this collection are poetic yet very brief. On some occasions, they reminded me of a Rumi quote and I marveled at how so much could be compressed into so few words.

If you are a lover of poems, I’d love to know what you think. For me, this way of expressing and dealing with life experiences is inspiring and has encouraged me to create my own. For a long time now, I have been inviting my clients to make drawings when the words fail to come. Sometimes I ask a client to make a sound that conveys their experience.

My invitation to you is to look at Rupi Kaur on the web or social media and get a sense of her work, and then attempt your own poem.

You can get a sense of her work and access many poems and drawings through her Instagram Rupi Kaur and I should disclose that I am not linked to her work in any other way than as an admirer, fellow writer and creative.

Why not take a step towards becoming more whole with us?

At MTC we pride ourselves on helping clients integrate from the inside-out and outside-in. We do this with

retreats
online Da Vinci self-study programme
1:1 work
books
online tools such as the 14-Day Habit Builder

There is really no reason to feel stuck or struggle. At MTC we’re committed to helping you shine, do well and be truly well. Start your journey today!