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Why Milk and Honey Is Empowering

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UIC chapter.

I’m sure all of us have read Milk and Honey, and if not, then you need to borrow or buy this book. It’s been a long time that I’ve actually been passionate about a book, well, besides the Harry Potter series. Milk and Honey speaks to your soul and is a book that is relatable in any situation. It’s as if Rupi Kaur knew my whole life story and what I’ve been through and placed it in this book.

I stumbled upon this book in what I didn’t realize was a critical point in my life. This past summer was one of my worsts and a summer where I lost myself. I’m still in the process of healing, and Rupi has been a part of that process. Her book describes the bitterness of life, which all I could see was the negativity and bitterness during the summer. It wasn’t until I finished her book that the power behind it hit me. This book to anyone can seem like any other book that’s just filled with poems, so what’s the big deal? Rupi simply puts life in perspective in four parts. Life is filled with pain, but through the pain, we feel there are joy and love.

Her small poems resonate in your soul as you read them because of the power behind it. The empowerment I felt was reading another woman’s pain and knowing that we’ve shared the same pains, but learned to heal. It’s not every day we hear another woman share her pain since we are told to keep our pain silent. Rupi’s pain and healing wasn’t to outdo another woman, but to say I share your pain, and there is hope. Her healing part of the book is what changed me. It wasn’t that hurting, loving, and breaking didn’t change me, but her words of encouragement and empowerment for women is what made me wake up that morning willing to get better. Her healing part was the empowerment anthem that I needed to hear as a woman and a person in general. It’s what made me take a second look at the world. It’s what made me realize that life will bring you hardships, but it’s taking those hardships and learning from them is how we get better in life. It’s how we find joy and positivity and realize that it’s the pain we go through that makes those small moments more important. Rupi Kaur left me more empowered as a woman and more appreciative of life because her believing she would never write again, yet writing Milk and Honey lets me know that the road never ends, but finds a new path.

Hi I'm Aeja! Junior at UIC and a Pre Nursing Major. I try to write what inspires me, so I hope you enjoy my articles!
UIC Contributor.