#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Over two million copies sold! “Packed with incredible insight about what it means to be a woman today.”—Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Book Pick)In her most revealing and powerful memoir yet, the activist, speaker, bestselling author, and “patron saint of female empowerment” (People) explores the joy and peace we discover when we stop striving … peace we discover when we stop striving to meet others’ expectations and start trusting the voice deep within us.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY O: The Oprah Magazine • The Washington Post • Cosmopolitan • Marie Claire • Bloomberg • Parade • “Untamed will liberate women—emotionally, spiritually, and physically. It is phenomenal.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of City of Girls and Eat Pray Love
This is how you find yourself.
There is a voice of longing inside each woman. We strive so mightily to be good: good partners, daughters, mothers, employees, and friends. We hope all this striving will make us feel alive. Instead, it leaves us feeling weary, stuck, overwhelmed, and underwhelmed. We look at our lives and wonder: Wasn’t it all supposed to be more beautiful than this? We quickly silence that question, telling ourselves to be grateful, hiding our discontent—even from ourselves.
For many years, Glennon Doyle denied her own discontent. Then, while speaking at a conference, she looked at a woman across the room 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. But she soon realized they had come to her from within. This was her own voice—the one she had buried beneath decades of numbing addictions, cultural conditioning, and institutional allegiances. This was the voice of the girl she had been before the world told her who to be. Glennon decided to quit abandoning herself and to instead abandon the world’s expectations of her. She quit being good so she could be free. She quit pleasing and started living.
Soulful and uproarious, forceful and tender, Untamed is both an intimate memoir and a galvanizing wake-up call. It is the story of how one woman learned that a responsible mother is not one who slowly dies for her children, but one who shows them how to fully live. It is the story of navigating divorce, forming a new blended family, and discovering that the brokenness or wholeness of a family depends not on its structure but on each member’s ability to bring her full self to the table. And it is the story of how each of us can begin to trust ourselves enough to set boundaries, make peace with our bodies, honor our anger and heartbreak, and unleash our truest, wildest instincts so that we become women who can finally look at ourselves and say: There She Is.
Untamed shows us how to be brave. As Glennon insists: The braver we are, the luckier we get.
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Just amazing!!!!!!!
I am reading this book in a book group and am loving the metaphors, inspiration, thought-provoking, and well-written text. Highly-recommend for inspiration.
Really enjoyed this memoir – I love how she wove together little snippets of her life into a whole. I also liked that she acknowledged that our beliefs and perspectives change as we age and experience life, and it’s okay to change your mind, even if you’ve already published a memoir with a different belief system! Super honest.
“We can do hard things”
Glennon Doyle speaks freely and openly about her struggles with her mental health, sobriety, and finding new love. A beautiful, spiritual read reminds the reader exactly what is important in life, to just be. Perfect for a book club, this memoir provides valuable life lessons many can relate to. It gets three out of five stars from me!
Raw, real and relevant.
Glennon Doyle keeps it real about her life and her beliefs and I’m here for it!!!!
I’ve read this author before but I don’t actively follow this author or genre. I read this book, or I should say partially read this book on the recommendation of someone I know, and as much as they enjoyed it, I was not only disappointed but glad I only borrowed it rather than purchased it. I found the story spotty and disjointed and the recommendations made by the author go against the very things she warns against and had previously written about…so which is it? Live what you’re feeling or ride it out to see where your destiny is? Is it just a phase? Blaming others for her choices? Huh? Does not come across as authentic or true to life, and really makes me reevaluate anything recommended by Reeses Book Club or possibly anything else written by this author. You are better off skipping this and reading something worth your spare time since lately we all have so little of that.
What started out as a fabulous read quickly (after about 40ish pages) turned into a huge disappointment.
There’s one part where she blames not getting the memo so her children “suck”. Her words. She actually says her children suck!! Ummm what??!! Yet somehow it isn’t her fault because she didn’t get the memo on how to raise them??!!
I can’t STAND ish like this. She even says she shoved an iPad at the last one and let that raise her and it somehow made her daughter a better and stronger person…but says her kids suck??!!
I raised 4 children ON MY OWN. No father. No family. No friends. I had absolutely NO CLUE what I was doing most of the time but my children are wonderful, beautiful people. I made mistakes, plenty of them, but I spent time with my kids, quality time, and showered them with all the love and discipline they needed.
I don’t discount what she says she went through. I was just utterly confused as to what she was trying to get across through all the lecturing of how she apparently has life figured out and knows much better than we do. Hmmmm…ok then.
I am in the minority here but I think this book just wasn’t for me. I was expecting it to make me WANT to break out of some cage I felt like I was in, and I had too high of expectations I think. Listen, if I had read this book when I was, let’s say, 12 years younger, I would definitely feel this book. There were some things that I agreed with and I do feel them to my core, but other things just left me feeling weird. I liked the audio a lot, since Glennon narrates herself I highly suggest it. Her tone and demeanor were what had me finishing the book. I agree that a lot of us don’t know where we are supposed ot be in life and just try to fit into something that society told us we should be, but I feel like maybe I am already passed that and I am pretty happy with who I am and my feelings at this stage in my life. If you are struggling, this book is a bit like self help and it could be for you.
I heard so much buzz about this book that is was a great read. I had no idea that this was a memoir nor had I ever heard of the Author. I was browsing my libraries site and saw that this was an available for seven days audio borrow so i figured why not. Well it was a most enjoyable read/listen and I was intrigued with Glennon’s life and takes on it. I’ll definitely follow her and look into her other works.
What a read! Provided so many light bulb moments & made me realise that I am not the only one who thinks like this! Pure brilliance. Will read again!
Puts into words and phrases a lifetime of experiences many of us have and do not now how to explain.
I was not a fan of this book, obviously. I love historical and realistic fiction. However, this was just a let down in how it was written. I was just not a fan of how it is crafted. It did not and has not managed to engage and hook me as a reader and keep me focused and interested. It had rave reviews, so I bought it. I didn’t like the idea how she says that we shouldn’t follow societal norms or what other people expect from us. People need to be more kind with one another, that is a part of what is wrong with our society. Then, she tells you what you should do, to be like her. It sort of feels like you have to believe and do what she says you should do and or believe. However, this seems to be the antithesis of what she preaches.
I thought this was single handily the greatest most inspirational book I’ve ever read! If there’s any women out there I suggest you read it.
Great way to get your head on straight for the year to come.
Messages about empowering women need to come in all shapes and sizes. This one was chatty. A good audible choice.
I literally stumbled across this book. I didn’t know who Glennon was. I hadn’t read her other books. But something about the cover caught my eye and then the synopsis pulled me in. I’m so glad it did. I chose to read it as an ebook. Halfway through had marked so many pages where the wisdom that leapt out at me, that I may need to reconsider. However, I did head off to the book store and bought several as Christmas gifts.
This is the book I wish I had read before marriage. This is the book I wish I had read before I had kids. It really is about envisioning and embracing your best life and empowering your children to do the same. It acknowledges that sometimes to live your best life, you have to break someone’s heart. I certainly did. I never was able to become the person my parents wanted and always felt their disappointment keenly. But choosing to embrace what you know in your heart is your path is the only choice to have that best life.
I think today I’m going to buy a third print book just for me and I’m going to go through it with a neon yellow highlighter marking passages that land for me – something I never do with books. It feels like sacrilege. However, it means when I need a reminder to choose me, I can leaf through the book until the right quote leaps out.
I didn’t realize this was a memoir & book of shorts when I reserved it, but wow! What a deeply poignant and real look at how “tamed” we’re raised to be and how important it is to break out of that programming. I don’t agree with EVERYTHING she said, but so much of it seems universal. What a delightful find.
Wise
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I saw myself in parts of this book. I would definitely recommend this book.