Milk

- 'Illuminating . . . an important book' Sunday Times
- 'A fascinating journey through the social, cultural and historical meanings of breastfeeding. A sublime book' Elinor Cleghorn, author of Unwell Women
- 'Erudite, intimate and compelling . . . a long-overdue history' Leah Hazard, author of Hard Pushed
- 'A story for us all' BBC History Magazine
Milk is elemental. It is the first thing we look for at birth and, for most, it is the first substance to touch our tongues after we enter the world. It is the promise of nourishment, of care, of life.
Using the arc of her own experience, cultural historian Joanna Wolfarth takes us on an intimate journey of discovery beyond mother and baby, asking how the world views caregivers, their bodies, their labour and their communal bonds. By bringing together art, social histories, philosophy, folk wisdom and contemporary interviews with women from across the world, Milk reveals how infant feeding has been represented and repressed, celebrated and censured. In doing so, it charts previously unexplored territory - and offers comfort and solace to anyone who has fed or will feed a child.

Joanna Wolfarth is an art historian. Previously visiting lecturer in Southeast Asian Art at SOAS, University of London, she now teaches History of Art at The Open University. Milk is her first book.