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Desire and Reality Collide in Melissa Broder’s New Novel “Milk Fed”

by BUST Magazine

Rachel is 24 and ravenous; for her mother’s love, for her Jewish faith which she’s strayed too far away from, and for all of the food she’s forbidden herself to eat. She maintains a sense of control by counting calories and going to the gym. But her rigidly structured days fracture when her therapist encourages her to take a 90-day break from her mother. The effort of this estrangement weakens her to Miriam—an Orthodox Jewish woman and new employee at Rachel’s favorite frozen yogurt shop, Yo!Good—who is intent on feeding her. What unfolds is an erotic, deeply emotional, and sometimes funny transformation. 

In Milk Fed, desire and reality collide. Rachel’s therapist gifting her the unique opportunity to unravel in order to discover what she needs to feel whole is both compelling and intoxicating. Her stumbles are understandable, and her discoveries refreshing. In each chapter, author Melissa Broder captures the many faces of grief that often accompany acceptance: of a mother’s faults, of the ending of a relationship, of spiritualty, of the realization that unconditional love is a myth. Milk Fed isn’t a book about grief, though; it’s a book about healing. –Samantha Ladwig

Milk Fed 
By Melissa Broder
(Scribner)

This article originally appeared in the Winter 2021 print edition of BUST Magazine. Subscribe today!

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Founded in 1993, BUST is the inclusive feminist lifestyle trailblazer offering a unique mix of humor, female-focused entertainment, uncensored personal stories, and candid reporting that tells the truth about women’s lives.

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