Untamed

Glennon Doyle is a new-to-me author so I started this book with no preconceived ideas. In fact, I picked this book based only on its snazzy cover and the buzz surrounding it (a Reese Witherspoon selection, no less) and thought it was a work of fiction. Just goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover!

Untamed is a unique nonfiction mix of memoir with a healthy dose of Self Help. A little too hearty of a self-help serving for this gal, but an interesting read, nonetheless. Written in a series of vignettes, the book loosely follows certain aspects of Doyle's life. I enjoyed the many little nuggets of Doyle's wisdom that had me highlighting passages as she discussed various issues - some I connected with and others I didn't. 

I found the first 1/4 of the book a struggle because it dealt with topics I couldn't connect with and if it weren't for one reviewer who warned that the first 25% was a very slow go, I probably would have put the book down. Throughout the book I found her writing disjointed at times and even a little preachy in an all-knowing Self-Help Guru kind of way with every situation being a life lesson. And while I understand where she was going with her idea of 'Knowing', it often went too mystical for my tastes. 

But as the book progressed, I found more in common with the issues/topics, I agreed with much of what she said, and her humour peeked through a bit more. I liked how she challenges her readers to dig deeper and find their own truth and to not accept the ideologies/rules that have been passed down to us. She wants us to knock down the rules that bind us into the small, limiting boxes society has put us in and that's awesome.

Doyle has lived through a lot and I appreciate her idea of Knowing ourselves and the numerous nuggets of wisdom - some will stick with me and others won't. Overall, this was a unique and empowering read with a side of mystical self-help that may not be my jam, but Glennon Doyle has given me much to mull over. 

Favourite Quotes:
There is no greater burden on a child than an unlived life of a parent.

If women trusted and claimed their desires, the world as we know it would crumble. Perhaps that is precisely what needs to happen so we can rebuild truer, more beautiful lives, relationships, families, and nations in their place.  Maybe Eve was never meant to be our warning. Maybe she was meant to be our model.  Own your wanting. Eat the apple. Let it burn.

We weren't born distrusting and fearing ourselves.  That was part of our taming.  We were taught to believe that who we are in our natural state is bad and dangerous. They convinced us to be afraid of ourselves. So we do not honor our own bodes, curiosity, hunger, judgment, experience, or ambition. Instead, we lock away our true selves.  Women who are best at this disappearing act earn the highest praise: She is so selfless. Can you imagine? The epitome of womanhood is to lose wone's self completely.  That is the end goal of every patriarchal culture. Because a very effective way to control women is to convince women to do it themselves.

Brave does not mean feeling afraid and doing it anyway. Brave means living from the inside out. Brave means, in every uncertain moment, turning inward, feeling for the Knowing, and speaking it out loud. Brave isn't asking the crowd what is brave.  Brave is deciding for oneself.

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Author: Glennon Doyle

Genre: Self Help, Memoir

Type and Source: eBook from Public Library

Publisher: Random House Canada

First Published:March 10, 2020

Opening Lines: Two summers ago, my wife and I took our daughters 

to the zoo. As we walked the grounds, we saw a 

sign advertising the park's big event: the Cheeta Run.

Book Description from GoodReads: 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?

Four years ago, Glennon Doyle, author, 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. 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.