MILF
Motherhood, Identity, Love and F*ckery
by Paloma Faith
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Pub Date 6 Jun 2024 | Archive Date 30 Jun 2024
Ebury Publishing, Penguin Random House | Ebury Spotlight
Talking about this book? Use #MILF #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
***THE INSTANT NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER***
'The most raw, funny and liberating look at what it is to be a woman.' – FEARNE COTTON
‘Paloma is a storyteller like no other. Empowering and healing – a whole generation of women are about to feel SEEN!’ – GIOVANNA FLETCHER
'Gritty, funny, poetic and freeing.' – ANNA MATHUR, Psychotherapist and bestselling author
'A tremendous book, both entertaining and important' – The i newspaper
Can women have it all?
What does it mean to be a woman and a mother in the modern age?
In this passionate, funny and fierce polemic, Paloma Faith delves deep into the
issues that face women today, from puberty and sexual awakenings, to battling
through the expectations of patriarchy and the Supermum myth.
Infused with Paloma's characteristic humour, and raw honesty about the
challenges of IVF and the early years of motherhood, this book is a beautiful
celebration of women's work and the invisible load women carry.
Moving from questions around identity and how motherhood impacts on that, to what it even
means to be a 'good mother', how we need to embrace messiness,
imperfection and the bitter sweet pleasures of being 'selfish' and putting
ourselves first.
Paloma invites us into her own coming of age and relationship with her mum, to
explore how our bonds with our children evolve into adulthood. We see a
glimpse of the complexities and joys of Paloma's experience of juggling
romantic love, heartbreak and dating with the demands of motherhood.
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9781529937640 |
PRICE | £22.00 (GBP) |
PAGES | 304 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
I love Paloma Faith and always found her to be so refreshing and honest in an era where people hide their true feelings, This book definitely held her true voice for me in many topics that are not often discussed as openly or honestly.
really enjoyed the short, punchy chapters, transcriptions and lists that this book delivers all kinds of aspects of Paloma Faith's life experiences and opinions on those. I especially loved the transcribed chats with her Mum, who she clearly has a great relationship with but they differ in their opinions and perspectives and it was so wholesome to read this in their interactions. There's souch honesty, openness and a degree of TMI you'd probably expect from Paloma's writing, but I loved it, it was so interesting to see her point of view on so many topics particularly motherhood and dating.
Great book that really gets to the heart of how it feels to be a mum. Isn't gonna change anything but nice to feel like someone else is there with you.
Normally, I avoid ‘celebrity’ books - they bring me out in a rash. However, I find Paloma Faith an interesting character. And this book doesn’t disappoint. Partially, is an attempt to reclaim the word and give it a positive spin. But that is only partially the purpose of it.
She is brutally honest about her own sexuality, miscarriage, motherhood, IVF, the break up of the relationship with her children’s Dad and her own life. Mixed in with that, is her perceptions for what it is like being a woman artist, raising two kids as a single parent and contrasting her own life with her Mother’s.
In broader terms, she talks about her own hopes for what the future of feminism looks like. And if that is the intention of this book - one that changes the world - time will tell. But it’s that non-linear, snapshot style of the book that shouldn’t work, does. Paloma Faith has added her another string to her bow in being such a skilled, candid and funny writer.
It is a pleasant surprise to find something that is both glitzy and gritty. It’s published by Ebury on June 6th and I thank them for a preview copy. #MILF
I loved the raw honesty of Paloma Faith in this book. She holds nothing back
Feminists and fans of Paloma will love this.
Thank you Paloma Faith, Netgalley and Penguin for this advanced copy. Paloma’s words really resonated with me and I loved reading her insightful and honest words about her female health experiences and life. I am sure that this story will resonate with many women in their 40s who have had struggles conceiving and fought the battle with being a working Mum. Thank you Paloma for writing this and stating the things so many of us feel.
I love paloma and this did not disappoint. An honest and emotional look at motherhood and the issues faced. Not normally a fan of a celebrity book but paloma definitely changed my feelings with this one. Top feminist and writer. Thanks
When I found out I was pregnant, I decided to keep a journal, my plan was to write in this journal throughout my pregnancy, and up until my baby turned 1. I don't think I got far past the first scan tbh. But if I had, it would probably read much like this book! To know, that someone as inspirational as Paloma Faith, who I genuinely look up to as a working Mother, who I thought had it all, feels the same way I do about pregnancy and motherhood, honestly it was just so affirmative. I absolutely devoured this book, I laughed out loud, I felt emotional and found myself wiping tears away, I felt rage as a Woman and the amount of snippets I showed to my husband to try and reaffirm some of the things I've been telling him for the last 2 years (since having our son).
I can understand why some people may have seen it as a 'winge fest', but isn't it time Women spoke up about all things womanhood, in such a raw and honest way? I really wish there were more books like this. I wish it were more common place to talk about our lives and our bodies and experiences as humans in such an open way. Why are Women's bodies still so taboo?!
Thank you Paloma for writing this book and being so honest, and Thank You NetGalley, as always for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts in exchange for this wonderful book.
I really like Paloma Faith, she is quirky and personable and an amazing singer. I could relate to her on a lot of things and her description of motherhood was absolutely spot on. She is a strong character and talks about things a lot of women shy away from. She adores her daughters and that shines through this book, but she admits that quite often children's activities bore her and I totally get that!
However, I do feel a bit of sympathy for the children's dad. He seems to be a good guy who is now relegated to weekend visitation rights.
I am a bit older than Paloma but as a single mum -not through choice - at her age, I have experienced the dating scenarios with children at home and I can admit I made more than a few mistakes. But nowadays with grown up children I just can't face the stress!
Short but very enjoyable and relatable read.
Wow. I never expected to feel so seen by @palomafaith, but she has nailed what it feels like to be a mother, a daughter, a wife, a woman in society today. Everyone should read it ❤️ and listen to her interview with @fearnecotton: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/paloma-faith-outspoken-women-fertility-and-milfs/id1353058891?i=1000658394922
I really don't know what to say about this book.........
MILF - Motherhood, Identity, Love and F*ckery by Paloma Faith was frecking Brilliant!! and a MUST READ!!!!!
This book will have you laughing out loud, until you have tears running down your face! its just a fantastic read all about US!!!! Us women, Yes You!!!!
Paloma Faith has written with passion, it's bloody funny and fierce polemic, and delves dshe eep into the issues that face women today, from puberty and sexual awakenings, to battling through the expectations of patriarchy and the Super mum myth.
Paloma talks about her and her challenges of IVF and the early years of motherhood, this book is a beautiful and a celebration of women's work and the invisible load women carry everyday!
This book is very raw and honest throughout that I can honestly say is one of the best books I have read. There's no Black and white here! just pure truth on how it is........
Paloma invites us into her own coming of age and relationship with her mum and to explore how our bonds with our children evolve into adulthood. We see a glimpse of the complexities and joys of Paloma's experience of juggling romantic love, heartbreak and dating with the demands of motherhood.
A brilliant read and I highly recommend it. Can't wait for it to come out on audiobook.
Big Thank you Paloma for writing this and stating the things so many of us feel. Especially if you can not have children! I could relate to her pain of all those questions on when you gonna start a family? etc.
A very enjoyable read! Faith shares with us what is essentially her musings about motherhood, working, femininity and life as a woman in general.
I enjoyed her confident voice and there are some absolute pearls of wisdom scattered throughout the book. There are moments that make things make sense, and others that make you question or think a little more deeply about the role of being a mother, in fact it prompted a little self reflection and appreciation for me actually! I've seen this described as a 'one sided sermon' but I disagree, it is more like a monologue that you can choose to dial into or appreciate as an audience member. She shares raw feelings, highs and lows but without any need for pity...more out of wanting to explore and explain I felt, allowing a space for mother's to have complex feelings. I enjoyed the structure of it and how her musings are interspersed with conversations with her mother, wishes for her children or entertaining lists.
It's very wittily written, but would you expect anything less from Paloma Faith?!
I was drawn towards reading this after seeing a clip on Fearne Cotton’s Instagram which said that Paloma talks about her experiences of IVF and miscarriage – which I hadn’t known that she had been through. As someone who has also experienced both of those things, I was intrigued.
I didn’t know very much at all about Paloma before reading this book, and I’ve really come to like her now! She’s a very straight-talking, down-to-earth kind of person!
The book is split into lots of short chapters on different aspects of being a woman, a mother, a partner, and a human being! And there are a lot of crossover themes around the battles women face trying to ‘have it all’ – versus how this goes for men. There was so much that I agreed on (not all, but plenty) – to the point that there were times that I was furiously nodding, and saying out loud, “Yes, Paloma, YES.” It was quite cathartic to realise that famous and successful women also go through the exact same things as us regular women! Including the stress of being the one that always has to plan and manage everything at home – the yearning that your partner just take the initiative with things instead of asking what they can do to help!
Reading this was a good reminder to me to have more open and honest talks like this with friends, because I’m sure we are all experiencing the same things but you don’t really end up talking about it and then it can sometimes feel isolating when it needn’t be.
There were a couple of pages that I even took photos of because they resonated with me so much – one was about wanting a t shirt to describe her everyday feeling – ‘Bandwidth exceeded’. The other says ‘if you are the mother of children, all the roads lead to you, and you are always both in the moment you are in, and thinking about twenty other things you need to organise for them as well.’ Yes!
At times it was a little bit stream of consciousness but overall an affirming read that gave me a bit of space to reflect on my own ‘bandwidth exceeded’ behaviours! I enjoyed the input from Paloma’s mum as well, which added another way of looking at things.
I think this is a very honest, raw book.
There's a lot about motherhood (stating the obvious as it's in the title) and not being a mother myself, I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I loved how she explained things - her ups and downs, and actually how women probably often feel, but aren't able to be honest about it.
I respect her a bit more after reading it.
Enjoyed it and liked reading about her different experiences.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Snappy and insightful. It's the kind of book that, when I was younger and branching into feminist reading, I'd have enjoyed. Now as a working mum of two trying to navigate how you balance life and feelings and the priorities when joy stems from your little ones vs anywhere else, a lot of this hit particularly hard. Amidst the complexity of emotions and things you face, it honestly by the end just made me want to hug my kids.
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