In Defence of Leisure

£12.99

Akshi Singh was born ninety years after Milner, in Rajasthan over four thousand miles away from where Milner lived and worked. At first glance, the worlds of these two women seem entirely separate. Yet when Singh found herself standing at a crossroads in her life and grieving personal loss, she realised the questions and preoccupations Milner was exploring were her own. ‘In Defence of Leisure’ presents Marion Milner as a writer for our times. In asking the simple question: how do I want to spend my free time? Milner developed a method for discovering her true likes and dislikes. As Singh follows Milner’s approach – from keeping a diary to painting, building a home and travelling to the sea – she discovers the importance of rest, creativity and play in all of our lives, and how it can open the door to achieving what we truly desire.

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What kind of life do I really want to live?

'Essential' Frieze

'Elegant, invigorating and beautiful' Amy Key

Akshi Singh was at a crossroads. She worked precarious jobs and drifted between flats and relationships in London, struggling to grieve and comprehend the loss of her brother years earlier.

Then she came across the twentieth-century psychoanalyst and thinker Marion Milner. Though their lives were so different, the questions and preoccupations Milner was exploring – about leisure, freedom and creativity – were Singh's own.

Milner asked the simple question: how do I want to spend my free time? By following Milner's footsteps – keeping a diary, painting, building a home and travelling to the sea – Singh discovers the importance of rest, creativity and play in all of our lives, and how it can open the door to achieving what we truly desire.

'Astounding, generous, and quietly exhilarating' Daisy LaFarge

'Luminous' Times Literary Supplement

'Open-hearted' Marianne Brooker

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Weight 0.184 kg
Dimensions 19.9 × 12.9 × 1.7 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

256

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

306.4812 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K