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mticereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Eating disorder
tara_mack's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Abandonment
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Untamed by Glennon Doyle 🐆
🌟🌟🌟✨
🐆The concept: "Who were you before the world told you who to be?" This is the question Glennon Doyle finds herself asking when the Christian marriage and family that helped her achieve sobriety is stifling her and she falls in love at first sight with a woman at a conference. She finds that the voice that leads her towards fulfilment doesn't come from outside herself - from "on high" or a spiritual guide - but from deep inside herself, and sets off in pursuit of that voice.
I don't read a huge amount of self help-y books, and this was definitely jumping in at the deep end. The tone throughout was like a mix between Fight Song by Rachel Platten, a TED talk, and a CEO's LinkedIn post about a conversation with their child that ends with the phrase "let that sink in." Sometimes it hit on something profound, sometimes it felt more like she'd capitalised random words and hoped for the best.
The topics she discussed were wide-ranging and she didn't shy away from anything. There was even a chapter about racism, which was a bit of a mixed bag. It started with an irritating anecdote about Trump's election - a friend calling her, distraught, and Doyle doing the smug "woke" white woman thing of "Well maybe now FINALLY everyone will wake up!!!" And while I thought Doyle did well at explaining how she as a philanthropist balances a sense of personal responsibility and acknowledging her own racism with taking action, I wasn't fully convinced by her comparing anti-racism work to sobriety. I'm not sure how far I can get behind anti-racism as a form of self-help for white people, and it's symptomatic of the individualist lens that I felt characterised this book.
Overall, this was enjoyable and at times illuminating, but I'm not sure it totally convinced me!
🐆 Read it if you think best in metaphors and analogies because my god, does Doyle LOVE them. If you're in a time of real flux right now this would probably be quite reassuring.
🚫 Avoid if you have a low threshold for irritation or if any of what I've said above sets off alarm bells!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Eating disorder and Religious bigotry
Minor: Homophobia and Vomit
kelly_e's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Title: Untamed
Author: Glennon Doyle
Genre: Non Fiction
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: March 10, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Digestible • Reflective • Empowering
📖 S Y N O P S I S
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.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I read Untamed in small weekly sections along with a handful of other women as part of an online group, and I am not sure if I would have picked it up otherwise. Reading and discussing it with other women really enhanced the experience as a whole and I definitely got more out of it than I would have had I read it along.
I decided the best way for me to consume this book would be by listening to the audio, which is read by Glennon herself. While I couldn't relate to many of the chapters and topics, the ones that I did relate to really struck a chord. Part memoir, part self-help, part essay collection, it is written in a way that is easily digestible. However, there really isn't a consistent timeline or flow to how it is organized. I didn't mind this, but I know it will not work for some people.
After listening to Untamed there is no doubt in my mind Glennon is an incredibly powerful activist and speaker. I could see how this book could easily rub some people the wrong way, yet for me there were parts which were empowering. I have since started listening to Glennon's podcast, and I would consider reading something else she writes in the future.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Brené Brown fans
• book clubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"She said this: 'I've spent the past week considering your question. I can imagine a thousand easier stories about mothers and sons. I can think of a million happier ones. But I cannot imagine a single story truer or more beautiful than the heartbreaking one I'm living now, with my boys.'"
"The truest, most beautiful life never promises to be an easy one. We need to let go of the lie that it's supposed to be."
"Perhaps the only thing that makes grief any easier is to surrender completely to it. To resist trying to hold on to a single part of ourselves that existed before the doorbell rang. Sometimes to live again, we have to let ourselves die completely. We have to let ourselves become completely, utterly, new."
"Depression and anxiety are not feelings. Feelings return me to myself. Depression and anxiety are body snatchers that suck me out of myself so that I appear to be there but I'm really gone. Other people can still see me, but no one can feel me anymore - including me. For me, the tragedy of mental illness is not that I'm sad but that I'm not anything. Mental illness makes me miss my own life."
Author: Glennon Doyle
Genre: Non Fiction
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: March 10, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Digestible • Reflective • Empowering
📖 S Y N O P S I S
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.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I read Untamed in small weekly sections along with a handful of other women as part of an online group, and I am not sure if I would have picked it up otherwise. Reading and discussing it with other women really enhanced the experience as a whole and I definitely got more out of it than I would have had I read it along.
I decided the best way for me to consume this book would be by listening to the audio, which is read by Glennon herself. While I couldn't relate to many of the chapters and topics, the ones that I did relate to really struck a chord. Part memoir, part self-help, part essay collection, it is written in a way that is easily digestible. However, there really isn't a consistent timeline or flow to how it is organized. I didn't mind this, but I know it will not work for some people.
After listening to Untamed there is no doubt in my mind Glennon is an incredibly powerful activist and speaker. I could see how this book could easily rub some people the wrong way, yet for me there were parts which were empowering. I have since started listening to Glennon's podcast, and I would consider reading something else she writes in the future.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Brené Brown fans
• book clubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"She said this: 'I've spent the past week considering your question. I can imagine a thousand easier stories about mothers and sons. I can think of a million happier ones. But I cannot imagine a single story truer or more beautiful than the heartbreaking one I'm living now, with my boys.'"
"The truest, most beautiful life never promises to be an easy one. We need to let go of the lie that it's supposed to be."
"Perhaps the only thing that makes grief any easier is to surrender completely to it. To resist trying to hold on to a single part of ourselves that existed before the doorbell rang. Sometimes to live again, we have to let ourselves die completely. We have to let ourselves become completely, utterly, new."
"Depression and anxiety are not feelings. Feelings return me to myself. Depression and anxiety are body snatchers that suck me out of myself so that I appear to be there but I'm really gone. Other people can still see me, but no one can feel me anymore - including me. For me, the tragedy of mental illness is not that I'm sad but that I'm not anything. Mental illness makes me miss my own life."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, and Mental illness
Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Vomit, Grief, and Pregnancy
jordan21's review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
I had high hopes for this memoir, but found myself more annoyed than inspired. A few of the essays did resonate with me, but most of the others were filled with too much unrealistic dialogue to be enjoyable. As a writer myself, I’m in disbelief that anyone could remember full paragraphs of a conversation with their daughter or partner like Glennon claims to have done in Untamed.
I also feel like she portrays her sexual awakening in a very bootstrap-type of way that is not accessible to the average person. Yes, I agree that it was a brave thing to leave her husband for the sake of finding happiness with Abby, but not every closeted gay person has the privilege to start a new life with a famous, white, ex-soccer star. Virtue signaling came in very strong for me throughout this read and I’m surprised at how little criticism I’ve seen it receive.
I also feel like she portrays her sexual awakening in a very bootstrap-type of way that is not accessible to the average person. Yes, I agree that it was a brave thing to leave her husband for the sake of finding happiness with Abby, but not every closeted gay person has the privilege to start a new life with a famous, white, ex-soccer star. Virtue signaling came in very strong for me throughout this read and I’m surprised at how little criticism I’ve seen it receive.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
amylynnknitsreads's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
There was nothing bad about this book but there was also nothing that I can really wave about when it comes to this book. It was good but I wasn't particularly inspired buy it nor did I come away with any great revelations. I enjoyed learning about the author's life and her experiences and hearing her point of view.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
buffyali's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Racism and Suicidal thoughts
marisa_n's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
3.0
This felt like a book-length version of those cheesy quotes on Facebook that say things like "a flower cannot blossom without rain." Overall, the book was cheesy, superficial, and disorganized.
To be fair, it wasn't all bad. The author has clearly lived many different lives as she's worked to find herself. She's turned her story into a series of easily digestible anecdotes and life lessons. There were a few powerful reminders about self-love, romantic love, and parenting. There were some empowering messages about trusting your intuition, defining happiness for yourself, and challenging oppressive systems.
That said, the actual book itself was a mess. It was simultaneously overly formulaic and completely unorganized. Each chapter starts with a simple anecdote, has an a-ha!/ light bulb moment, and then ends with a life lesson to tie it all together. That said, the chapters were in no coherent order--neither chronologically or by theme. I'm convinced you could randomize the order of the chapters had have a fairly similar reading experience. It was incredibly frustrating to guess where you were chronologically. Moreover, the author was constantly learning a lesson, just to jump back in the timeline and re-learning the same lesson. It made the a-ha moment feel forced and insincere. Lastly, the strange order made the book feel incredibly repetitive, as no topic was given enough space within a single chapter to reach any depth.
The author should have put all the stories in chronological order. This would have helped clearly describe who she used to be, provide us a chance to root for her in her non-linear journey, and then display a character arc. Alternatively, she could have given a brief overview of her story in the introduction, then organized all the chapters (in chronological order!!) into sections organized by large themes, such as inner self, love, parenting, god/ religious institutions, community/activism. I think the messages could have been so much more powerful if she started describing her internal journey, and then how it changed her relationships with those of various proximity to her.
Overall, I think the book was fine. Perhaps I'm just not the target audience... This book might be written for women who are white, christian, politically moderate, mothers (who she used to be). To be fair, if she can reach those kinds of women and engage them on issues related to race, gender, sexual misogyny, etc., then that's a win in my book. That said, I have the feeling she's mostly preaching to the choir.
To be fair, it wasn't all bad. The author has clearly lived many different lives as she's worked to find herself. She's turned her story into a series of easily digestible anecdotes and life lessons. There were a few powerful reminders about self-love, romantic love, and parenting. There were some empowering messages about trusting your intuition, defining happiness for yourself, and challenging oppressive systems.
That said, the actual book itself was a mess. It was simultaneously overly formulaic and completely unorganized. Each chapter starts with a simple anecdote, has an a-ha!/ light bulb moment, and then ends with a life lesson to tie it all together. That said, the chapters were in no coherent order--neither chronologically or by theme. I'm convinced you could randomize the order of the chapters had have a fairly similar reading experience. It was incredibly frustrating to guess where you were chronologically. Moreover, the author was constantly learning a lesson, just to jump back in the timeline and re-learning the same lesson. It made the a-ha moment feel forced and insincere. Lastly, the strange order made the book feel incredibly repetitive, as no topic was given enough space within a single chapter to reach any depth.
The author should have put all the stories in chronological order. This would have helped clearly describe who she used to be, provide us a chance to root for her in her non-linear journey, and then display a character arc. Alternatively, she could have given a brief overview of her story in the introduction, then organized all the chapters (in chronological order!!) into sections organized by large themes, such as inner self, love, parenting, god/ religious institutions, community/activism. I think the messages could have been so much more powerful if she started describing her internal journey, and then how it changed her relationships with those of various proximity to her.
Overall, I think the book was fine. Perhaps I'm just not the target audience... This book might be written for women who are white, christian, politically moderate, mothers (who she used to be). To be fair, if she can reach those kinds of women and engage them on issues related to race, gender, sexual misogyny, etc., then that's a win in my book. That said, I have the feeling she's mostly preaching to the choir.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
krissydurant's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
livcashmere's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
I’m quite conflicted with how to review this book. I should start off by stating that’s it’s definitely not what I thought it was going to be. I heard Glennon interviewed on ABC’s conversations podcast years ago and have been meaning to read this book ever since. But untamed definitely took me by surprise because it read a lot more like a self-help book than I was anticipating.
Honestly my biggest problem with this book is I just found nearly all of Glennon’s lived experiences to be extremely not relatable to my life. I’m not sure whether it’s a generational thing but it always makes me so sad to think of how many women spend huge chunks of their lives being absolutely miserable because they feel societal pressure to do so. Of course this is still an ongoing problem today but nearly all the women in my life no longer or have ever felt that type of pressure before. Glennons story just reeks of your typical Gen X white feminist who has had this huge mid life epiphany and has suddenly decided to think for herself. Honestly, I’m truly happy for her but reading this book just made me feel so frustrated most of the time. When Glennon talks about discovering and following her ‘Knowing’, I understand what she means, but it’s absolutely wild to me that she spent 40 years of her life ignoring that feeling. Also she mentions several times that her previous books were full of bullshit, which made me think exactly the same thing about this one!
That aside, I do think that Glennon is a wonderful writer. And I really enjoyed the short, non-sequential chapter layout of this book. She explores a lot of interesting subject matters in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the reader. One aspect I really hated though was her long lectures that she states she gives a variety of people in her books, particularly her kids and Abby. I’m sure they’re not word for word but the absolute paternalism and the need for controlling everyone around her was so prevalent that if I was on the receiving end in real life I would be rolling my eyes and walking away. She also talks a little too much about God for my liking, but each to their own.
Overall it was a well written novel, but took my by surprise (not in a good way) with the self-help, religion and God aspects. I was going to give it a lower rating originally but settled on 3.5 because the chapters about her relationships and life were very interesting and well written. The rest of the book was about a 2 due to how preachy it was.
Honestly my biggest problem with this book is I just found nearly all of Glennon’s lived experiences to be extremely not relatable to my life. I’m not sure whether it’s a generational thing but it always makes me so sad to think of how many women spend huge chunks of their lives being absolutely miserable because they feel societal pressure to do so. Of course this is still an ongoing problem today but nearly all the women in my life no longer or have ever felt that type of pressure before. Glennons story just reeks of your typical Gen X white feminist who has had this huge mid life epiphany and has suddenly decided to think for herself. Honestly, I’m truly happy for her but reading this book just made me feel so frustrated most of the time. When Glennon talks about discovering and following her ‘Knowing’, I understand what she means, but it’s absolutely wild to me that she spent 40 years of her life ignoring that feeling. Also she mentions several times that her previous books were full of bullshit, which made me think exactly the same thing about this one!
That aside, I do think that Glennon is a wonderful writer. And I really enjoyed the short, non-sequential chapter layout of this book. She explores a lot of interesting subject matters in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the reader. One aspect I really hated though was her long lectures that she states she gives a variety of people in her books, particularly her kids and Abby. I’m sure they’re not word for word but the absolute paternalism and the need for controlling everyone around her was so prevalent that if I was on the receiving end in real life I would be rolling my eyes and walking away. She also talks a little too much about God for my liking, but each to their own.
Overall it was a well written novel, but took my by surprise (not in a good way) with the self-help, religion and God aspects. I was going to give it a lower rating originally but settled on 3.5 because the chapters about her relationships and life were very interesting and well written. The rest of the book was about a 2 due to how preachy it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Eating disorder