thewellbitch's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
4.5
Loved it! Would love to reread and highlight a lot of parts.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Racism, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
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
swetha062's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
If there exists a book that you'd like to gift your younger self, I would give her this book. It wouldn't only be your best friend but it would also encourage you to live and be better everyday.
Content Warnings
Minor: Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Mental illness
fcg's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
2.75
guet aber nid hilfrich, als mischig us self-help und biographie für mich nid asprächend
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse
thequeengeek's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Hear me out. I started listening to Brené Brown books in the shower and sobbing right after I had Anthony. I was going through some bad PPD and decided to do a partial hospitalization program. A lot of the work I was doing there involved breaking down the shame and armor that Brené Brown discusses in her books. So, shower sobbing audiobooks began.
Now, I'm a little self conscious about the practice and about the material. Is it contributing to white woman nonsense? Am I somehow perpetuating privilege in a negative way by taking on this worldview? Is this all stuff I already paid to learn by a parade of very good therapists and group therapy and and and? Probably. Probably all of it.
HOWEVER hearing someone tell you that it's okay to listen to yourself and not please someone else and that you don't need to live in a little armored bubble fueled by shame and guarding against rejection is, in fact, nice. It's validating.
Enter this book. This is a more memoir-based version of the research based Brown's work. It tells stories about learning the hard way why "whole-hearted living" helps us and changes the course of our lives. It gives advice to stop asking for advice and polling and researching to make decisions and sit deep inside ourselves. It talks about stop living for the way you are supposed to be and start honoring who you are. Just more sobbing shower material.
I make fun of this, yes, but I do think that for a white middle class woman who struggles with unlearning the upbringing of the 80s and 90s, this is a good book. I want my friends to read it. I want to talk about it. And, honestly, it felt good to cry along with it. I did not always agree with her conclusion. I think that's okay. I did like hearing how she totally changed the order of her life and survived. It's a good reminder about parenting and expectations and honoring our children and our families.
This book isn't really about the content, though the content is good if you need it. But it's about the vibe. Sometimes she seems self indulgent, and sometimes a little unhinged, and sometimes you may think that what she says is completely selfish or won't lead to good choices. But I think that doing even a little bit of what she suggests could uncage us all.
I also read this book at the same time as When Women Were Dragons and the themes were so spot on that it felt like it enhanced my reading of both. I was happy that I was exploring rage, and social expectations, and making yourself small at the same time I was reading a modern book asking the same questions but directly AT me.
Look, I like this book. I'm couching it in all these caveats probably because I'm not just owning my feelings. Please read it and let me know when you are down shower crying so we can talk about it.
Now, I'm a little self conscious about the practice and about the material. Is it contributing to white woman nonsense? Am I somehow perpetuating privilege in a negative way by taking on this worldview? Is this all stuff I already paid to learn by a parade of very good therapists and group therapy and and and? Probably. Probably all of it.
HOWEVER hearing someone tell you that it's okay to listen to yourself and not please someone else and that you don't need to live in a little armored bubble fueled by shame and guarding against rejection is, in fact, nice. It's validating.
Enter this book. This is a more memoir-based version of the research based Brown's work. It tells stories about learning the hard way why "whole-hearted living" helps us and changes the course of our lives. It gives advice to stop asking for advice and polling and researching to make decisions and sit deep inside ourselves. It talks about stop living for the way you are supposed to be and start honoring who you are. Just more sobbing shower material.
I make fun of this, yes, but I do think that for a white middle class woman who struggles with unlearning the upbringing of the 80s and 90s, this is a good book. I want my friends to read it. I want to talk about it. And, honestly, it felt good to cry along with it. I did not always agree with her conclusion. I think that's okay. I did like hearing how she totally changed the order of her life and survived. It's a good reminder about parenting and expectations and honoring our children and our families.
This book isn't really about the content, though the content is good if you need it. But it's about the vibe. Sometimes she seems self indulgent, and sometimes a little unhinged, and sometimes you may think that what she says is completely selfish or won't lead to good choices. But I think that doing even a little bit of what she suggests could uncage us all.
I also read this book at the same time as When Women Were Dragons and the themes were so spot on that it felt like it enhanced my reading of both. I was happy that I was exploring rage, and social expectations, and making yourself small at the same time I was reading a modern book asking the same questions but directly AT me.
Look, I like this book. I'm couching it in all these caveats probably because I'm not just owning my feelings. Please read it and let me know when you are down shower crying so we can talk about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism
buffyali's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Drug use, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexism, and Drug abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Racism
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
Spoiler
At one point, when she is expressing her repulsion at having sex with her husband, she is gaslit into being told to make it work. She describes having 'consensual' but emotionally manipulated sexual encounterskat_leona's review against another edition
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
1.75
Not my favorite but I’m also not a non fiction girlie. I thought some parts had really good thoughts and others not enough. Good read if you don’t dissect each chapter but does that make it a bad read because you can’t dissect it too hard or you’ll start questioning the author credibility to properly narrate. I understand why people love it and if we didn’t break it down so much in book club than I may have also joined the collective that love it. But after reading it I honestly just think our girlie glennon needs therapy and this book starts a deeper discussion but does not do that conversation the justice it deserves. Like why do we as women question ourselves so much when our counterparts literally don’t bat an eye. Or why do we immediately think a confident woman is a bitch and hostile? There’s were ALOT of good points she brought up that stimulated conversation within our group. But once that conversation started you begin to realize that she couldve expanded or worded something different or whatever it was. We thought it had good ideas and foundations but it should’ve been edited and reviewed more
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Classism, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Eating disorder, and Misogyny
belladonnashrike's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
2.75
would be 3 stars if it weren’t for the pacing for parts 1 & 2 of this book - they were so disorganized that I couldn’t enjoy the writing until part 3 (which was the longest and definitely the most well-written of the 3 sections).
it’s a nice easy read and a good break from all the depressing books I always have my nose in, but it wasn’t super profound to me. there are definitely some gems in there, though. the ending was a little flat and weirdly abrupt.
ultimately I don’t understand the praise this gets, it was okay. not bad, but not the best piece of writing either.
not trying to rain on her parade at all. despite my critiques i am very happy she was able to flourish and now lives the life she wants to live without the societal & religious constraints that are bestowed upon us from such a young age.
it’s a nice easy read and a good break from all the depressing books I always have my nose in, but it wasn’t super profound to me. there are definitely some gems in there, though. the ending was a little flat and weirdly abrupt.
ultimately I don’t understand the praise this gets, it was okay. not bad, but not the best piece of writing either.
not trying to rain on her parade at all. despite my critiques i am very happy she was able to flourish and now lives the life she wants to live without the societal & religious constraints that are bestowed upon us from such a young age.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Sexism, Addiction, and Infidelity
Minor: Racism, Mass/school shootings, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, and Drug abuse