(It's about time I update my weblog or else you people will think something bad has happened to me (choy!). This was written some time ago, but I didn't post it because it was awfully written. I did some quick editting just now, but it still didn't seem right. Bah.)

I suck at writing reviews, so this is not one. It's just some of my thoughts after reading Fresh Milk. I'm not sure why I'm doing this because I don't exactly enjoy the book. Well, maybe because this is probably the last book on breastfeeding I'll read after closing my own chapter. To save your time from googling (heh, actually I'm too lazy to summarise), here is a synopsis of the book.

I must have devoured all books on breastfeeding in the library and even owned a few. So it was of much interest when I came across this new one which claimed that it is 'not an everyday breastfeeding manual'. It is, indeed, first of its kind to record real life experiences of real people, with its compilation of personal accounts, memories, the author's own research, interviews, responses to questionnaires, of all topics centering around breastfeeding.

The book started off well, with articles on grouses on how difficult it was to choose a well-fitted nursing bra, painful experiences that breastfeeding manuals never told you, to general opinions on breastfeeding in public and survey responses that would bring a smile upon you. Many of these topics were so relevant to me that I couldn't help to nod with agreement and empathize with these mommies' experience and, at the same time, reminiscing my own.

That's about all the good things I can say about this book. Towards the middle of the book, it made a swift u-turn. From being informative and funny, the topics became odd - cooking with breastmilk! Gosh! - to the point of being distasteful - lactation-p0rn, which I found sick. Call me narrow-minded, but I really do not see the point in relating the beauty of breastfeeding to sexuality and p0rnography. I'm quite disappointed that the author did not clarify her own stand on this. In fact, it became clear as I read on that the author was careful to exclude her own viewpoints most of the time, and sticked to the job of purely compiling and editing. It made one suspect that the real intention of the author was really to jack up the sales of the book by inclusion of such topics.

It's a pity that a book that started well put me off in the end. What I can say after reading this book is that, well, there are better books around. If you are breastfeeding and are interested to read this book, don't buy it, there are many copies available at the library.