Spilt Milk: Essays

In her literary debut, internationally award-winning writer Courtney Zoffness considers what we inherit from generations past - biologically, culturally, spiritually - and what we pass on to our children

Spilt Milk is an intimate, bracing, and beautiful exploration of vulnerability and culpability. Zoffness relives her childhood anxiety disorder as she witnesses it manifest in her firstborn; endures brazen sexual advances by a student in her class; grapples with the implications of her young son’s cop obsession; and challenges her Jewish faith. What role does a mother play, she asks, in raising thoughtful, generous children? Where is the line between privacy and secrecy? And how do the stories we tell inform who we become? These powerful, dynamic essays herald a vital new voice.

‘Gentle, playful and laced with subtle wit, these essays are a welcome balm in an insane and un-gentle time.’ - Mary Gaitskill, author of This is Pleasure

‘I don’t know what I love the most about Courtney Zoffness’s Spilt Milk. The taut originality of the prose? The acuity of its insights? The daring vulnerability? There is so much I want to say about Spilt Milk, but honestly they’re all variations of This is fucking brilliant. Whatever you think this book is, it’s more.’ - Mat Johnson, author of Pym