This was Reese Witherspoon’s book club pick for April which I had to pick up based on this gorgeous cover!
Synopsis
This is how you find yourself.
There is a voice of longing inside every woman. We strive so mightily to be good: good mothers, daughters, partners, employees, citizens, and friends. We believe all this striving will make us feel alive. Instead, it leaves us feeling weary, stuck, overwhelmed, and underwhelmed. We look at our lives, relationships, and world, and wonder: Wasn’t it all supposed to be more beautiful than this? We quickly silence that question, telling ourselves to be grateful. We hide our simmering discontent—even from ourselves. Until we reach our boiling point.
Four years ago, Glennon Doyle—bestselling Oprah-endorsed author, renowned activist and humanitarian, wife and mother of three—was speaking at a conference when a woman entered the room. Glennon looked at her and fell instantly in love. Three words flooded her mind: There She Is. At first, Glennon assumed these words came to her from on high. Soon she realized that they came to her from within.
Glennon was finally hearing her own voice—the voice that had been silenced by decades of cultural conditioning, numbing addictions, and institutional allegiances. This was the voice of the girl Glennon had been before the world told her who to be. She vowed to never again abandon herself. She decided to build a life of her own—one based on her individual desire, intuition, and imagination. She would reclaim her true, untamed self.
Soulful and uproarious, forceful and tender, Untamed is both a memoir and a galvanizing wake-up call. It offers a piercing, electrifying examination of the restrictive expectations women are issued from birth; shows how hustling to meet those expectations leaves women feeling dissatisfied and lost; and reveals that when we quit abandoning ourselves and instead abandon the world’s expectations of us, we become women who can finally look at ourselves and recognize: There She Is.
Untamed shows us how to be brave. As Glennon insists: The braver we are, the luckier we get.
Rating
I have a really hard time rating Non-fiction books and even more if it is a memoir. This rating is based on the writing and how i felt about it. Overall, I rate this one 4 stars (An Excellent book!)
My Thoughts
I would describe this book more as a self-help book than a memoir. If you have read any books by Glennon Doyle before you know what to expect since Untamed is similar to Love Warrior as far as the writing style and theme. I read Love Warrior years ago and became a fan of Glennon, I’m familiar with her style so I knew what to expect. With that said, I don’t think this is a book for everyone, especially for those just looking for a memoir that reads like fiction. This is not that kind of book.
What I like about this book is how open Glennon is about her life and struggles and how she tells her story so that other’s can learn. The book is told in a set of stories (like a short stories book) that don’t have a chronology. There are some powerful stories that I bookmarked to come back to. I couldn’t necessarily relate to many of the stories but the message behind them is what stuck with me.
I listened to the audiobook version of the book (Thanks libro.fm!) which is narrated by Glennon and I loved it. It gives you a different experience hearing it from her and she does an amazing job at narrating it. My rating takes this into consideration so I may not have had the same experience had I read the physical book.
In this book Glennon shares with us her journey to becoming untamed and leaves it to us to define what being untamed means to us and how we get there ourselves. I’d describe this book as thought provoking, powerful and empowering. It really makes you reflect on your own life.
Favorite Quotes
“Being human is not hard because you’re doing it wrong, it’s hard because you’re doing it right. You will never change the fact that being human is hard, so you must change your idea that it was ever supposed to be easy.”
“When a woman finally learns that pleasing the world is impossible, she becomes free to learn how to please herself.”
“Privilege is being born on third base. Ignorant privilege is thinking you’re there because you hit a triple. Malicious privilege is complaining that those starving outside the ballpark aren’t waiting patiently enough.”
Who I recommend this book to
If you like Glennon Doyle’s past books (Love Warrior) and self-help books. I also recommend this to fans of Elizabeth Gilbert, Cheryl Strayed, and Brene Brown.
Grab your hardback copy from bookshop.org here, e-book here or audiobook from libro.fm (use code GISSELLEREADS).
