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anna4ce's review against another edition
4.0
Love this essay collection. Some hit harder than others, but I love her writing style and how jarring some of her phrasing is: simple and substantial. This book took me over a year to read as I "broke" it off into chunks to fully absorb things. Will definitely reread an essay at a time and highlight
kaylaconrad's review against another edition
5.0
This book ripped me apart again and again, it’s like the author was inside my brain. A discussion on womanhood, motherhood, queerness, indoctrination, everything. The writing was beautiful and I found myself wondering how she was able to convey all the feelings and thoughts I’ve had in such eloquent sentences. This is a book I will continue to reread I believe at different points in my life and know I will get something completely different from it each time.
akarpow's review against another edition
1.0
Was so excited to finally read this and I’m throughly disappointed. I think this book would’ve been more influential, inspiring, or enjoyable if I was very young and sheltered and didn’t know sh*t about life, but as a young adult (who probably still doesn’t know sh*t about life, but is a little less sheltered), I didn’t find any of the revelations or lessons thought provoking at all; I’m pretty sure I had similar revelations before I even came of age. Not sure what that means for me or for Glennon, but this just wasn’t for me.
skz0424's review against another edition
3.0
Struggled a bit with this book. There were lots of great one-liners but what I think my biggest problem is that I don’t love self-help motivational speakers. That’s on me though. Mediocre book, kinda hard to get through. Not great but not terrible. You probably would need to be personally aligned with her political beliefs to not be totally turned off.
ieland16's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
twellz's review against another edition
5.0
75 highlights! I’ve never read a book where I have underlined so many passages. From the first few sentences, I was captivated...a caged cheetah. Perfect. I always feel sadness & become mesmerized by the eyes of caged wild animals.
Beliefs - like people - change. Do you still believe the exact thing that you believed last week, last year, 10 years ago? If the answer is yes, then you DEFINITELY need to read Untamed.
“Right around age ten is when we begin to internalize our formal taming.”
“It struck me that in every family, culture, or religion, ideas of right and wrong are the hot cattle prods, the barking sheepdogs that keep the masses in the herd. They are the bars that keep us caged.”
Glennon’s stories are about more than just a woman coming to realize that she does not belong with her husband. Yes, she finds the perfect wife. This book dives so much deeper. She defines evolution toward oneself. Being in my late 40’s, I am still evolving & know that change is certain. Glennon revises a lot of her previous stances on things & takes a hard look at herself, her upbringing and the women in her life. She has the bravery to admit she was wrong (about herself & some of her beliefs). She's still evolving too...she’s only 44 years old.
“But good enough is what makes people drink too much and snark too much and become bitter and sick and live in quiet desperation until they lie on their deathbed and wonder: What kind of life/relationship/family/world might I have created if I’d been braver? The building of the true and beautiful means the destruction of the good enough.”
What I found the most amazing, is that Glennon could not have known as she wrote this book that it would be released during a major world crisis! Coronavirus (caged), racism (in all of us), politics (fury)...Untamed is prophetic & it’s message is EXACTLY what the world needs right now. From the stories about Alicia Keys (lack of wearing makeup), the Mona Lisa (smile), bulimia (image), soccer games (bravery)....Glennon speaks to moms, daughters, sisters, friends, and wives. There are sections on parenting, marriage, love, friendship, being a woman, & even just being a human. I had so many "YES! THIS! SO MUCH THIS!" moments while reading. I feel like every woman alive should read this because you will come away feeling seen, heard & known.
“Every truth is a kindness, even if it makes others uncomfortable. Every untruth is an unkindness, even if it makes others comfortable.” (Personal note: I am framing this...it’s my mantra in life.)
On Donald Trump: “Maybe now we’ll admit that our country has become unmanageable. Maybe we’ll take a moral inventory and face our open family secret: that this nation—founded upon ‘liberty and justice for all’—was built while murdering, enslaving, raping, and subjugating millions. Maybe we’ll admit that liberty and justice for all has always meant liberty for white straight wealthy men.” (She wrote this over a year ago y’all!)
On racism: “People are just telling us the truth for the first time. That truth feels like an attack because we have been protected by comfortable lies for so long.” (Again...this was before George Floyd)
Glennon has a gift...Untamed reads like she’s talking right to the reader, just like she would if you were chatting over coffee or tea. She reveals her fears, weaknesses, & mistakes. I found it easy to read & take her points to heart because she's not perfect & clearly knows it! I found myself examining if I really know “how to live”. Glennon touches on so many of the same thoughts & ideas I’ve been thinking about. I will be interested to see where her evolution takes her in the years to come. I did find some parts to be a little intimidating & “too perfect”. However, her main message is what I want for my boys...to grow up & be totally themselves, without the world telling them they’re not enough. It is precisely what my soul needed at this exact moment.
“Here’s to the Untamed:
May we know them.
May we raise them.
May we love them.
May we read them.
May we elect them.
May we be them.”
Beliefs - like people - change. Do you still believe the exact thing that you believed last week, last year, 10 years ago? If the answer is yes, then you DEFINITELY need to read Untamed.
“Right around age ten is when we begin to internalize our formal taming.”
“It struck me that in every family, culture, or religion, ideas of right and wrong are the hot cattle prods, the barking sheepdogs that keep the masses in the herd. They are the bars that keep us caged.”
Glennon’s stories are about more than just a woman coming to realize that she does not belong with her husband. Yes, she finds the perfect wife. This book dives so much deeper. She defines evolution toward oneself. Being in my late 40’s, I am still evolving & know that change is certain. Glennon revises a lot of her previous stances on things & takes a hard look at herself, her upbringing and the women in her life. She has the bravery to admit she was wrong (about herself & some of her beliefs). She's still evolving too...she’s only 44 years old.
“But good enough is what makes people drink too much and snark too much and become bitter and sick and live in quiet desperation until they lie on their deathbed and wonder: What kind of life/relationship/family/world might I have created if I’d been braver? The building of the true and beautiful means the destruction of the good enough.”
What I found the most amazing, is that Glennon could not have known as she wrote this book that it would be released during a major world crisis! Coronavirus (caged), racism (in all of us), politics (fury)...Untamed is prophetic & it’s message is EXACTLY what the world needs right now. From the stories about Alicia Keys (lack of wearing makeup), the Mona Lisa (smile), bulimia (image), soccer games (bravery)....Glennon speaks to moms, daughters, sisters, friends, and wives. There are sections on parenting, marriage, love, friendship, being a woman, & even just being a human. I had so many "YES! THIS! SO MUCH THIS!" moments while reading. I feel like every woman alive should read this because you will come away feeling seen, heard & known.
“Every truth is a kindness, even if it makes others uncomfortable. Every untruth is an unkindness, even if it makes others comfortable.” (Personal note: I am framing this...it’s my mantra in life.)
On Donald Trump: “Maybe now we’ll admit that our country has become unmanageable. Maybe we’ll take a moral inventory and face our open family secret: that this nation—founded upon ‘liberty and justice for all’—was built while murdering, enslaving, raping, and subjugating millions. Maybe we’ll admit that liberty and justice for all has always meant liberty for white straight wealthy men.” (She wrote this over a year ago y’all!)
On racism: “People are just telling us the truth for the first time. That truth feels like an attack because we have been protected by comfortable lies for so long.” (Again...this was before George Floyd)
Glennon has a gift...Untamed reads like she’s talking right to the reader, just like she would if you were chatting over coffee or tea. She reveals her fears, weaknesses, & mistakes. I found it easy to read & take her points to heart because she's not perfect & clearly knows it! I found myself examining if I really know “how to live”. Glennon touches on so many of the same thoughts & ideas I’ve been thinking about. I will be interested to see where her evolution takes her in the years to come. I did find some parts to be a little intimidating & “too perfect”. However, her main message is what I want for my boys...to grow up & be totally themselves, without the world telling them they’re not enough. It is precisely what my soul needed at this exact moment.
“Here’s to the Untamed:
May we know them.
May we raise them.
May we love them.
May we read them.
May we elect them.
May we be them.”