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.
Compassionate, compelling and beautifully told, Milk is a fascinating journey through the social, cultural and historical meanings of breastfeeding. Through her intricate, personal and tender research, Wolfarth deftly explores the human complexities of caring, nurturing and nourishing. A sublime book -- ELINOR CLEGHORN, author of UNWELL WOMEN A feminist blend of memoir and history . . . Wolfarth takes us on an illuminating tour of shifting attitudes and practices . . . as a cultural historian she is excellent at detailing how motherhood changes her perspective of art . . . this is an important book: however personal each mother's journey may seem, there are always bigger forces at play -- Francesca Angelini * THE SUNDAY TIMES * Erudite, intimate and compelling, Milk is a long-overdue history of humanity's first food -- LEAH HAZARD, author of HARD PUSHED Milk is a fascinating book, a rigorous and intimate study of something at once essential to life, and yet too often overlooked. Wolfarth uses breastfeeding as a lens through which to examine and critique the structures of motherhood, but it's also a text suffused with love and care, and I felt equal parts enlightened and comforted after reading it -- MIRANDA WARD, author of ADRIFT