jennabeck13's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)
Genre: Memoir
About 330 pages
Women have been tamed for years. We’ve been told what a proper lady looks like, sounds like, acts like, etc. So what happens when someone challenges those expectations society has put on us? Untamed tells Glennon Doyle’s story of doing just that. Glennon ended her marriage to pursue the woman she fell in love with at a conference. That decision could’ve changed her life, her career, and her kids’ lives in an infinite amount of ways. Could it have been the wrong decision? Yes, but it proved to be the right one. Untamed teaches readers to ask challenging questions, trust their gut, and not live in fear.
I DEVOURED THIS BOOK. Like literally couldn’t put it down. Glennon Doyle’s writing style pulled me in, and the topics she covered, the similarity of my opinions to hers, and her vulnerability kept me wanting more. I can’t believe it took me so long to read this book but I’m so happy book club brought it to me💜
I seriously think there are about 50 post-its in my copy highlighting amazing quotes. Therefore, I don’t think I can pick a favorite… but here is 1 of my 50+ highlights…. “Take good care of all of your selves. Fight like hell to keep yourself, and when you lose her, do whatever it takes to return to her.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Body shaming, Misogyny, Sexism, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
cinderrunner's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
I really enjoyed Glennon's world view. She came across as honest, self aware, and having a willingness for humanity that I see far too infrequently. She doesn't shy away from admitting her flaws (her history with eating disorders, drugs, alcoholism, failures as a parent,etc) but she is still first and foremost a motivational speaker. So everything is told through a lens of inspiration and learning from those flaws. Its a very solid half memoir and half self help. Again, she is very heavy on the inspirational stuff and she discusses her journey with religion/spirituality. That's not gonna be for everyone, so don't bother if you're gonna get annoyed by those things. It was a lovely read but did feel a little long winded and repetitive in parts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Grief, Eating disorder, Addiction, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, and Religious bigotry
parasolcrafter's review against another edition
emotional
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
1.75
this book was...fine??? i mean it definitely isnt revolutionary the way some ppl say it is :/ id say its a very shallow look at feminism; very surface level. there are some GREAT chapters in this book and some important things were said, but overall it feels like the author discovered feminism and is excited to tell ppl about it, as if we dont know what it already is? i dont know, it kind of came off sometimes like the author is treating the readers as if we dont know anything about it. and im sure this book is good for some people out there, but honestly a lot of the '''lessons''' we're taught about in this book is stuff i already dismantled inside myself when i was an older child/young teen. i didnt learn much from this book, really; its not bad, i guess, just definitely not for me. still gets a low rating though because i felt like the author was talking to me like i was a child.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, and Pregnancy
kayfab's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Misogyny, Drug use, Body shaming, and Panic attacks/disorders
wreathedinviolets's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
I appreciated that this was less “girl boss-y” than some other memoirs I’ve read lately. I enjoyed Glennon’s perspective on introspection and finding what you really want but I could have done with a little less spiritualism (but that’s just me and not a reflection on her). Side eye that this is Christina’s favorite book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia
deetabz's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Addiction, Bullying, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Grief, Alcohol, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Xenophobia, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Fatphobia, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Sexual content
avasbookmark's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Mental illness
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: Vomit and Homophobia
sjduncan's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, and Addiction
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: Homophobia, Biphobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Rape, Infidelity, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Classism, Death, Fatphobia, Grief, and Gun violence