Black Milk: On Writing, Motherhood, and the Harem Within 
After the birth of her first child in 2006, Turkish writer Elif Shafek suffered from postpartum depression that triggered a profound personal crisis. Infused with guilt, anxiety, and bewilderment about whether she could ever be a good mother, Shafak stopped writing and lost her faith in words altogether. In this elegantly written memoir, she retraces her journey from free-spirited, nomadic artist to dedicated but emotionally wrought mother. Identifying a constantly bickering harem of women who live inside of her, each with her own characteristics--the cynical intellectual, the goal-oriented go-getter, the practical-rational, the spiritual, the maternal, and the lustful--she craves harmony, or at least a unifying identity. As she intersperses her own experience with the lives of prominent authors such as Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Alice Walker, Ayn Rand, and Zelda Fitzgerald, Shafak looks for a solution to the inherent conflict between artistic creation and responsible parenting.
With searing emotional honesty and an incisive examination of cultural mores within patriarchal societies, Shafak has rendered an important work about literature, motherhood, and spiritual well-being.
Loved this book. It couldv'e been a favourite read.....BUTThere are alternative selves of Elif in the book namely some little women with different names; one is motherly, one is cynical, one is practical and ambitious etc. They were SO ANNOYING. Which is funny since the whole book revolves around these women through which we understand the thoughts in Elif's head.I hated them so much. But I loved ALL aspects of the rest of the book. Thoughts on writing, motherhood, societal expectations of
One of the most interesting books I ever read ! For a while I thought she z talking on my behalf esp abt the marriage idea☺...love u Elif ♥♥my fv novelist 🤗🤗

This book has lots of awesome quotes. But it was not the right book for me to read right now, I was just not in the mood and could not really relate to her struggles with marriage and pregnancy blues etc...
I loved parts of this book, when she writes about well-known authors and their experiences with motherhood and identity, but the finger-women thing never came together for me. I couldn't take it seriously, and accepting it as a metaphor seemed too obvious. There was no moment of realization, just a clear sense that Shafak decided to make the parts of herself into tiny people to show her internal conflicts. I want to find that clever, but it's far too simple.
a memoir by Elif Shafak, about being a mother and the conflict she felt between her roles as a writer and mothershe suffered of postpartum depression which she didn't know anything about itwrote about her life and different characters within her, and lives and experiences of other female writersbeautifully written memoiri think that becoming a parent for the first time is a life changing experience
In "Song of Myself," Walt Whitman famously wrote, "Do I contradict myself?/ Very well then I contradict myself,/ (I am large, I contain multitudes.)." Shafak takes this sentiment to heart. She not only recognizes her "multitudes," but she names them and identifies their personalities. There's Little Miss Practical, who leaves nothing to chance, viewing all choices and actions with logic and blunt rationale; Miss Highbrowed Cynic, who embraces the intellectual; Milady Ambitious Chekhovian, the
Elif Shafak
Hardcover | Pages: 267 pages Rating: 3.7 | 10608 Users | 1563 Reviews

Be Specific About Books In Favor Of Black Milk: On Writing, Motherhood, and the Harem Within
Original Title: | Siyah Süt |
ISBN: | 0670022640 (ISBN13: 9780670022649) |
Edition Language: | English |
Setting: | Turkey |
Description Concering Books Black Milk: On Writing, Motherhood, and the Harem Within
An acclaimed Turkish novelist's personal account of balancing a writer's life with a mother's life.After the birth of her first child in 2006, Turkish writer Elif Shafek suffered from postpartum depression that triggered a profound personal crisis. Infused with guilt, anxiety, and bewilderment about whether she could ever be a good mother, Shafak stopped writing and lost her faith in words altogether. In this elegantly written memoir, she retraces her journey from free-spirited, nomadic artist to dedicated but emotionally wrought mother. Identifying a constantly bickering harem of women who live inside of her, each with her own characteristics--the cynical intellectual, the goal-oriented go-getter, the practical-rational, the spiritual, the maternal, and the lustful--she craves harmony, or at least a unifying identity. As she intersperses her own experience with the lives of prominent authors such as Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Alice Walker, Ayn Rand, and Zelda Fitzgerald, Shafak looks for a solution to the inherent conflict between artistic creation and responsible parenting.
With searing emotional honesty and an incisive examination of cultural mores within patriarchal societies, Shafak has rendered an important work about literature, motherhood, and spiritual well-being.
Details Out Of Books Black Milk: On Writing, Motherhood, and the Harem Within
Title | : | Black Milk: On Writing, Motherhood, and the Harem Within |
Author | : | Elif Shafak |
Book Format | : | Hardcover |
Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 267 pages |
Published | : | April 28th 2011 by Viking (first published December 2007) |
Categories | : | Nonfiction. Biography. Autobiography. Memoir. Feminism. Asian Literature. Turkish Literature |
Rating Out Of Books Black Milk: On Writing, Motherhood, and the Harem Within
Ratings: 3.7 From 10608 Users | 1563 ReviewsNotice Out Of Books Black Milk: On Writing, Motherhood, and the Harem Within
Elif Shafak is now one of my favourite writers.Through Black Milk, she takes us through her journey of postpartum depression interspersed with wonderfully written diversions to her Self - a mini-harem of six different versions of her and also to the lives of women writers spanning ages and continents.I'd highly recommend this book for women writers irrespective of their views on motherhood. This book despite its reason for creation is a feast to be devoured for those interested in reading aboutLoved this book. It couldv'e been a favourite read.....BUTThere are alternative selves of Elif in the book namely some little women with different names; one is motherly, one is cynical, one is practical and ambitious etc. They were SO ANNOYING. Which is funny since the whole book revolves around these women through which we understand the thoughts in Elif's head.I hated them so much. But I loved ALL aspects of the rest of the book. Thoughts on writing, motherhood, societal expectations of
One of the most interesting books I ever read ! For a while I thought she z talking on my behalf esp abt the marriage idea☺...love u Elif ♥♥my fv novelist 🤗🤗

This book has lots of awesome quotes. But it was not the right book for me to read right now, I was just not in the mood and could not really relate to her struggles with marriage and pregnancy blues etc...
I loved parts of this book, when she writes about well-known authors and their experiences with motherhood and identity, but the finger-women thing never came together for me. I couldn't take it seriously, and accepting it as a metaphor seemed too obvious. There was no moment of realization, just a clear sense that Shafak decided to make the parts of herself into tiny people to show her internal conflicts. I want to find that clever, but it's far too simple.
a memoir by Elif Shafak, about being a mother and the conflict she felt between her roles as a writer and mothershe suffered of postpartum depression which she didn't know anything about itwrote about her life and different characters within her, and lives and experiences of other female writersbeautifully written memoiri think that becoming a parent for the first time is a life changing experience
In "Song of Myself," Walt Whitman famously wrote, "Do I contradict myself?/ Very well then I contradict myself,/ (I am large, I contain multitudes.)." Shafak takes this sentiment to heart. She not only recognizes her "multitudes," but she names them and identifies their personalities. There's Little Miss Practical, who leaves nothing to chance, viewing all choices and actions with logic and blunt rationale; Miss Highbrowed Cynic, who embraces the intellectual; Milady Ambitious Chekhovian, the
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