book review for untamed

Glennon Doyle's memoir 'Untamed' had helped me embrace some major changes in my life — here's why I recommend reading it, even though it's been years since it first published

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

• " Untamed " is Glennon Doyle's third memoir and has been a bestseller since it came out in 2020.
• It reads like a self-help book and I still think of Doyle's advice often.
• Here are three reasons I recommend this book, from Doyle's writing style to the advice itself.

I enjoy reading self-help books and memoirs, but very few have stayed with me after I turned the final pageー until I read " Untamed " by Glennon Doyle. 

My long-anticipated library copy of "Untamed" came to me at a very uncertain time of my life. I was just months away from changing careers, moving across the country, and marrying my spouse. It felt like I was starting over and to be honest, I was terrified. 

I opened "Untamed" without knowing who Glennon Doyle was or knowing what this book would hold for me. What I found was the unflinchingly honest story of a woman allowing herself to be free, told through deeply personal anecdotes and snippets of wisdom that I still think about today. 

"Untamed" was released in March 2020 but is still ranking on Amazon's bestseller list, was one of the most-read books on Goodreads last year, and is one of Libro.fm's bestselling audiobooks of all time. None of this comes as a surprise to me, as I've gone back to this memoir many times since I first read it, highlighting new passages each time.

Here are three reasons "Untamed" has resonated with me for years: 

1. it's more of a self-help book than a memoir. .

The first part of "Untamed" makes a case for how we are born into society's metaphorical cages that teach us how to act, what to say, who to love, and who to be. 

We are taught to be quiet, stifle our emotions, dream realistically, and fit the status quo, but many of these cages keep us from ever truly knowing ourselves or living freely, offering instead a life of elusive discontent that we avoid by drinking, convincing ourselves that "good enough" is good enough, or simply never looking straight at our problems because they're too much to bear. 

In part two, Doyle offers four keys to unlocking these cages: Feel It All, Be Still And Know, Dare to Imagine, and Build and Burn. These essentially translate to: Feelings are meant to be felt, you need to trust yourself, discontent is a sign you're in the wrong place, and new construction can only come from deconstruction. 

As Doyle identifies these keys, it's as if she's putting words to all the fears we have about what lies just beyond our reach, whether that's sobriety or a new career or leaving a stable but dissatisfying relationship.

Change is hard, full of unknowns, and absolutely scary. Reading about these cages and the keys helped me identify exactly what was challenging about my upcoming changes. Leaving my career in the military to pursue writing meant listening to my heart when it told me I was in the wrong place. Defending that decision to others was its own battle, especially when I wasn't sure it would actually work out. 

Doyle's "keys" helped me see that the discontent I felt was not something to be ignored. It was the embers of a fire I needed to fan, not stamp out. 

2. Doyle articulates her advice in a profound and memorable way. 

Doyle's chapters about her four keys resonate with me the most, but almost every chapter has a small or profound lesson to share, from insight into how we mentally cage young boys just as much as young girls to the acceptance that faith has many forms and changes throughout our lives. 

Making monumental life changes meant I've felt (and still feel) a lot of doubt, but whenever I re-open "Untamed," I feel grounded again. By revisiting Doyle's words, I'm reminded of the path I want to be on and that I have the power to take myself to where I want to be. 

It's made me feel like walking away from my old life was okay, because it meant I was headed toward something better. 

3. Doyle's story is unique, but nearly every reader can see themselves reflected in it. 

In Glennon Doyle's second memoir "Love Warrior," she chronicles how her husband's infidelity brought out the warrior in her. On that very book tour, she announced she was leaving him for Abby Wambach, a now-retired American soccer player. 

This memoir isn't so much about Doyle discovering that she was queer, but how allowing herself to fall in love with Abby was one of the many ways she freed herself from her cages. She also talks about her journeys with sobriety, eating disorders, parenthood, and friendship, tying each of them back to the lessons she's learned about being free and authentic. 

There are a few cheesy anecdotes that are certainly skewed by Doyle's occasional rose-colored glasses, but they are few and far between. But overall, Doyle has an amazing way of drawing you in with her vulnerability, letting readers get lost in her stories and feel like the advice is specifically meant for them. It helps readers like myself see how her advice can apply to our own situations and empower us to reach for our own authentic lives, no matter how imperfect the journey may be. 

The bottom line: 

"Untamed" has a message for everyone and I continue to find Glennon Doyle's advice ringing true in my own life again and again. This book is for anyone who feels a gnawing discontent and is looking for a way forward, but I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to ground themselves and live a more authentic life. 

• Main content

• ADMIN AREA MY BOOKSHELF MY DASHBOARD MY PROFILE SIGN OUT SIGN IN

Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

New York Times Bestseller

IndieBound Bestseller

by Glennon Doyle ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2020

Doyle offers another lucid, inspiring chronicle of female empowerment and the rewards of self-awareness and renewal.

More life reflections from the bestselling author on themes of societal captivity and the catharsis of personal freedom.

In her third book, Doyle ( Love Warrior , 2016, etc.) begins with a life-changing event. “Four years ago,” she writes, “married to the father of my three children, I fell in love with a woman.” That woman, Abby Wambach, would become her wife. Emblematically arranged into three sections—“Caged,” “Keys,” “Freedom”—the narrative offers, among other elements, vignettes about the soulful author’s girlhood, when she was bulimic and felt like a zoo animal, a “caged girl made for wide-open skies.” She followed the path that seemed right and appropriate based on her Catholic upbringing and adolescent conditioning. After a downward spiral into “drinking, drugging, and purging,” Doyle found sobriety and the authentic self she’d been suppressing. Still, there was trouble: Straining an already troubled marriage was her husband’s infidelity, which eventually led to life-altering choices and the discovery of a love she’d never experienced before. Throughout the book, Doyle remains open and candid, whether she’s admitting to rigging a high school homecoming court election or denouncing the doting perfectionism of “cream cheese parenting,” which is about “giving your children the best of everything.” The author’s fears and concerns are often mirrored by real-world issues: gender roles and bias, white privilege, racism, and religion-fueled homophobia and hypocrisy. Some stories merely skim the surface of larger issues, but Doyle revisits them in later sections and digs deeper, using friends and familial references to personify their impact on her life, both past and present. Shorter pieces, some only a page in length, manage to effectively translate an emotional gut punch, as when Doyle’s therapist called her blooming extramarital lesbian love a “dangerous distraction.” Ultimately, the narrative is an in-depth look at a courageous woman eager to share the wealth of her experiences by embracing vulnerability and reclaiming her inner strength and resiliency.

Pub Date: March 10, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-9848-0125-8

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | SELF-HELP | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

Share your opinion of this book

More About This Book

SEEN & HEARD

THE 48 LAWS OF POWER

by Robert Greene ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1998

If the authors are serious, this is a silly, distasteful book. If they are not, it’s a brilliant satire.

The authors have created a sort of anti-Book of Virtues in this encyclopedic compendium of the ways and means of power.

Everyone wants power and everyone is in a constant duplicitous game to gain more power at the expense of others, according to Greene, a screenwriter and former editor at Esquire (Elffers, a book packager, designed the volume, with its attractive marginalia). We live today as courtiers once did in royal courts: we must appear civil while attempting to crush all those around us. This power game can be played well or poorly, and in these 48 laws culled from the history and wisdom of the world’s greatest power players are the rules that must be followed to win. These laws boil down to being as ruthless, selfish, manipulative, and deceitful as possible. Each law, however, gets its own chapter: “Conceal Your Intentions,” “Always Say Less Than Necessary,” “Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy,” and so on. Each chapter is conveniently broken down into sections on what happened to those who transgressed or observed the particular law, the key elements in this law, and ways to defensively reverse this law when it’s used against you. Quotations in the margins amplify the lesson being taught. While compelling in the way an auto accident might be, the book is simply nonsense. Rules often contradict each other. We are told, for instance, to “be conspicuous at all cost,” then told to “behave like others.” More seriously, Greene never really defines “power,” and he merely asserts, rather than offers evidence for, the Hobbesian world of all against all in which he insists we live. The world may be like this at times, but often it isn’t. To ask why this is so would be a far more useful project.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-670-88146-5

Page Count: 430

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1998

GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION | PSYCHOLOGY | HISTORICAL & MILITARY

More by Robert Greene

BOOK REVIEW

by Robert Greene

BOOK TO SCREEN

Google Rating

INTO THE WILD

by Jon Krakauer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1996

A wonderful page-turner written with humility, immediacy, and great style. Nothing came cheap and easy to McCandless, nor...

The excruciating story of a young man on a quest for knowledge and experience, a search that eventually cooked his goose, told with the flair of a seasoned investigative reporter by Outside magazine contributing editor Krakauer (Eiger Dreams, 1990). 

Chris McCandless loved the road, the unadorned life, the Tolstoyan call to asceticism. After graduating college, he took off on another of his long destinationless journeys, this time cutting all contact with his family and changing his name to Alex Supertramp. He was a gent of strong opinions, and he shared them with those he met: "You must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life''; "be nomadic.'' Ultimately, in 1992, his terms got him into mortal trouble when he ran up against something—the Alaskan wild—that didn't give a hoot about Supertramp's worldview; his decomposed corpse was found 16 weeks after he entered the bush. Many people felt McCandless was just a hubris-laden jerk with a death wish (he had discarded his map before going into the wild and brought no food but a bag of rice). Krakauer thought not. Admitting an interest that bordered on obsession, he dug deep into McCandless's life. He found a willful, reckless, moody boyhood; an ugly little secret that sundered the relationship between father and son; a moral absolutism that agitated the young man's soul and drove him to extremes; but he was no more a nutcase than other pilgrims. Writing in supple, electric prose, Krakauer tries to make sense of McCandless (while scrupulously avoiding off-the-rack psychoanalysis): his risky behavior and the rites associated with it, his asceticism, his love of wide open spaces, the flights of his soul.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-679-42850-X

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Villard

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1995

GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

More by Jon Krakauer

by Jon Krakauer

• Discover Books Fiction Thriller & Suspense Mystery & Detective Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Nonfiction Biography & Memoir Teens & Young Adult Children's
• News & Features Bestsellers Book Lists Profiles Perspectives Awards Seen & Heard Book to Screen Kirkus TV videos In the News
• Kirkus Prize Winners & Finalists About the Kirkus Prize Kirkus Prize Judges
• Magazine Current Issue All Issues Manage My Subscription Subscribe
• Writers’ Center Hire a Professional Book Editor Get Your Book Reviewed Advertise Your Book Launch a Pro Connect Author Page Learn About The Book Industry
• More Kirkus Diversity Collections Kirkus Pro Connect My Account/Login
• About Kirkus History Our Team Contest FAQ Press Center Info For Publishers
• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Reprints, Permission & Excerpting Policy

© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Popular in this Genre

Hey there, book lover.

We’re glad you found a book that interests you!

Please select an existing bookshelf

Create a new bookshelf.

We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!

Please sign up to continue.

It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!

Already have an account? Log in.

Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.

Almost there!

• Industry Professional

Welcome Back!

Sign in using your Kirkus account

Contact us: 1-800-316-9361 or email [email protected].

Don’t fret. We’ll find you.

Magazine Subscribers ( How to Find Your Reader Number )

If You’ve Purchased Author Services

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up.

• Featured Essay The Love of God An essay by Sam Storms Read Now
• Faithfulness of God
• Saving Grace
• Adoption by God

Most Popular

• Gender Identity
• Trusting God
• The Holiness of God
• See All Essays

• Best Commentaries
• Featured Essay Resurrection of Jesus An essay by Benjamin Shaw Read Now
• Death of Christ
• Resurrection of Jesus
• Church and State
• Sovereignty of God
• Faith and Works
• The Carson Center
• The Keller Center
• New City Catechism
• Publications
• Read the Bible
• TGC Pastors

U.S. Edition

• Arts & Culture
• Bible & Theology
• Christian Living
• Current Events
• Faith & Work
• As In Heaven
• Gospelbound
• Post-Christianity?
• The Carson Center Podcast
• TGC Podcast
• You're Not Crazy
• Churches Planting Churches
• Help Me Teach The Bible
• Word Of The Week
• Upcoming Events
• Past Conference Media
• Foundation Documents
• Regional Chapters
• Church Directory
• Global Resourcing
• Donate to TGC

To All The World

The world is a confusing place right now. We believe that faithful proclamation of the gospel is what our hostile and disoriented world needs. Do you believe that too? Help TGC bring biblical wisdom to the confusing issues across the world by making a gift to our international work.

Untamed: The Gospel of Glennon Doyle

More by alisa childers.

Glennon Doyle’s Untamed has captured the hearts and minds of American women, hovering around the #1 spot on The New York Times bestseller list since its release. From her roots as a Christian mommy blogger to her rise to fame as a successful author, speaker, and activist, Doyle made headlines in 2016 when she announced she was leaving her husband of 14 years for soccer star Abby Wambauch. The book opens: “Four years ago, married to the father of my three children, I fell in love with a woman.” From there, the memoir documents what Doyle believes was her own untaming—the process of unlearning everything she was taught about family, gender, sex, love, motherhood, God, and Christianity—and forging her own path to find happiness.

Untamed begins with a family trip to the zoo to see the main event, the Cheetah Run. Doyle’s clan watches a trained cheetah chase a stuffed pink bunny attached to the back of a jeep. As the carnivore is rewarded with a piece of meat, the crowd applauds, but Doyle becomes queasy. The taming of the cheetah feels familiar. She realizes that she has lived her entire life like a caged animal, settling for store-bought steaks and the approval of strangers. 

This is the metaphor that drives the book. Women: You. Are. A. Cheetah. You are wild. You’re a bit scary. You need to break free from the conventions, expectations, and cultural conditioning of your environment and become . . . untamed. 

Glennon Doyle

In a culture that often conflates womanhood with a wallflower-y and opinion-less existence, it’s easy to grasp why this book has struck a chord. For women in empty marriages or who feel dissatisfied with motherhood and their careers, it can feel exciting and freeing to be told to embrace your inner cheetah.

In a culture that often conflates womanhood with a wallflower-y and opinion-less existence, it’s easy to grasp why this book has struck a chord.

There are some moments of depth and wisdom to ponder. For example, Doyle teaches that we shouldn’t shield our kids from suffering. She encourages women that “we can do hard things,” and advises that porn is bad for boys. Although she rightly identifies some common problems women encounter, many of Doyle’s solutions will only lead them into deeper bondage. By accepting half-truths and falsehoods about reality, many women may free themselves from one cage only to be trapped inside another. 

Reversing the Biblical Narrative

A consistent theme throughout Untamed is that women should put themselves and their desires first . Doyle asserts that to be good mothers, we must do whatever it takes to make ourselves happy. She quotes Swiss psychologist Carl Jung: “There is no greater burden on a child than the unlived life of a parent.” This realization was the nudge she needed to leave her husband. 

Doyle brings the Adam and Eve narrative into focus and blames the Bible for helping construct a culture built on the control of women. She writes, “When a woman wants more . . . she destroys the world.” Later, she boldly states that women shouldn’t think of Eve’s appetite as wrong. She suggests, “Maybe Eve was never meant to be our warning. Maybe she was meant to be our model. Own your wanting. Eat the apple.”

Although she rightly identifies some common problems women encounter, many of Doyle’s solutions will only lead them into deeper bondage.

By reversing the biblical narrative, she turns the Christian worldview on its head. Sin is no longer what’s wrong with the world, but unrealized ambitions. Like placing a band-aid on a gunshot wound, this idea will no doubt send many women on a lifelong journey to find happiness in temporary fixes and impotent solutions. 

This is where the beauty of the Christian story shines. Although Jesus promised trials, suffering, and persecution in this world, he also said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” The Christian has a deep and settled peace amid unfulfilled longing because she knows that every tear will one day be wiped away. She doesn’t put her hope in the things of this world but considers that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18).

God of the Morally Relative Self

Doyle quotes Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know.” She credits this verse with inspiring her to take 10 minutes a day to meditate. She “drops lower” with each session, finally finding a new level inside herself she identifies as “a Knowing.” Doyle converses with and consults the “Knowing” whenever she has to make a decision. She then explains:

If what I’ve found in the deep is just my self—if what I’ve learned is not how to commune with God but how to commune with myself—if who I have learned to trust is not God but myself—and if, for the rest of my life, no matter how lost I get, I know exactly where and how to find myself again—well, then. That is certainly enough of a miracle for me.

Doyle writes, “I now take orders only from my own Knowing.” Alluding to Exodus 3, she references God identifying himself as “I am.” She turns the question on herself, asking, “What are you, Glennon?” After a series of queries, she finally answers: “I am. I am. I am.” She regularly conflates the self with God.

Doyle contends that right and wrong, good and bad, and should and shouldn’t are not real concepts, but culturally constructed cages. She instructs women to ignore their minds—which are clouded by indoctrination—and obey their inner voices and deepest desires. 

Aside from the obvious anti-intellectual bias, one can’t miss the irony of casting off categories of right and wrong in a book that is basically 300 pages of breathtakingly specific instructions about what women should and shouldn’t do regarding everything from sexuality to religion to social activism. 

Aside from the obvious anti-intellectual bias, one can’t miss the irony of casting off categories of right and wrong in a book that is basically 300 pages of breathtakingly specific instructions about what women should and shouldn’t do.

As tempting as it may be to obey our desires, the Bible describes the human heart as “deceitful” and “desperately sick” (Jer. 17:9; cf. Heb. 3:13). It tells us not to lean on our own understanding (Prov. 3:4). Jesus taught that out of the heart come “evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Mark 7:21). The Christian understands that following Jesus means denying herself, not discovering the god inside. Not untaming her sinful nature but being conformed to Christ’s image. She knows that obedience to Jesus is far better than the temporary high of a better job or a movie-worthy romance because in his presence—not her own—there is fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11).

You’re Not a Cheetah

The thesis of Doyle’s book correctly identifies a problem: Many women live in metaphorical cages because they don’t understand who and what they really are .

Doyle’s analogy of the cheetah contains some truth. The domesticated feline thinks that running after plushie toys for a superstore ribeye is what life is about because she has never tasted the freedom of her natural habitat. She stalks the perimeter of her enclosure with discontent because she knows she was made for more—she just doesn’t know what.  

The problem with Doyle’s argument, however, is that women aren’t cheetahs. If women view themselves as untamed animals, they’ll be chasing an ideal that’ll never bring satisfaction . They will end up on their own type of “Cheetah Run” that left the wild beast pacing in her cage with unrealized longings in the first place. Of this longing, Doyle writes: “ I felt an electric restlessness buzzing inside me. It was like constant thunder rolling right there beneath my skin—a thunder made of joy and pain and rage and longing and love too deep, scalding, and tender for this world.”

I feel that, too. We all do. It reminds me of C. S. Lewis’s famous observation: “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” In this, Lewis touches on a much better solution. Instead of comparing ourselves to animals in captivity, the answer to the deep, unrealized yearning we all feel is to recognize that we were created in the image of a holy God with a purpose—to glorify him. Our natural habitat is a kingdom that is here—but not yet. Until all things are made new, we will live in that tension. Obeying our desires might temporarily distract with flashes of transitory happiness and plastic joy, but it won’t deliver freedom.

Obeying our desires might temporarily distract with flashes of transitory happiness and plastic joy, but it won’t deliver freedom.

Doyle offers a counterfeit freedom that emancipates readers from right and wrong, objective truth, the Bible, and Christianity. But it’ll only enslave them to another master—sin. For the Christian, true freedom isn’t apprehended by relying on your inner voice which can misguide you or change on a dime. It’s found by looking deep inside yourself, dying to the sinner you meet there, and turning to Christ. Freedom means trusting in the saving work of Jesus on the cross. It doesn’t justify you to indulge in sin, but liberates you from its power. You realize that to be freed from slavery to sin is to become a slave of God. One master leads to death; the other to eternal life (Rom. 6).

True Christianity Truly Frees Women

Despite her allusions to Jesus, faith, and the Bible, Doyle’s central message cannot be reconciled with Christianity. In fact, it’s the exact opposite.

With the saccharine promise of discovering your best life now, Untamed is recycled New Age dogma—a prosperity gospel for desperate housewives. But for a woman to find true contentment, she must resist the cultural trend toward living for the here and now. Real bravery means trading your cage for a cross. That’s the only way to cast off the prison bars of self-worship and become . . . not untamed . . . but truly free.

Alisa Childers is an American singer and songwriter who writes at alisachilders.com , an apologetics blog for doubting Christians and honest skeptics.

Now Trending

1 quality christian music: 15 artists to watch, 2 darby, dispensationalism, and the rise of evangelical antisemitism, 3 the 11 beliefs you should know about jehovah’s witnesses when they knock at the door, 4 the good news of scary jesus, 5 how to pastor a church through an election season.

How Hellion Teenagers Sparked Revival in a Small West Virginia Town

In the summer of 1999, a handful of party boys got saved. Then they got ahold of the keys to the church.

How the GOP Became Pro-Choice

Think Biblically About Relational Boundaries

Don’t Fear the Marks in Revelation

Pastoral Prayer After the Failed Assassination of President Trump

What Does the Bible Teach About Divorce and Remarriage?

How One Liberal Theologian Found Jesus

Latest Episodes

Trevin wax on reconstructing faith.

Salvation and Assurance in Christ: 1 John 5:4–21

Examining the Current and Future State of the Global Church

David Brooks Explores the Amazing Power of Truly Seeing Others

Welcome and Witness: How to Reach Out in a Secular Age

Introducing Season 4 and the Center for Gospel Culture

Gaming Alone: Helping the Generation of Young Men Captivated and Isolated by Video Games

Church, Equip Parents to Disciple Kids

Faith & Work: How Do I Glorify God Even When My Work Seems Meaningless?

Let’s Talk Reunion: The Blessings of Bible Study with Friends

Getting Rid of Your Fear of the Book of Revelation

Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: A Sermon from Julius Kim

Introducing The Acts 29 Podcast

Advertise   Contact   Privacy

Browse All Reviews

New Releases

List Reviews by Rating

List Reviews by Author

List Reviews by Title

By Glennon Doyle

Book review, full book summary and synopsis for Untamed by Glennon Doyle, an inspirational memoir about living a truer and "wilder" life.

(The Full Plot Summary is also available, below)

Book Summary & Key Ideas

In the Prologue , Doyle describes taking her daughter, Tabitha, to a cheetah run. The zookeeper insists that the cheetah has a good life at the zoo, but Doyle sees it and feels sad for the cheetah. Doyle imagines that, if asked, the cheetah would say that it knows it should be grateful for the life it leads, but something is missing and that it longs to be wild.

In Part I: Caged , Doyle discusses the messages girls are given about how to act, about learning about Eve's original sin, and about being told to do what's "right" or what she "should" do instead of what they want to do. Doyle also recalls telling her therapist that she has fallen in love with a woman, only to be given the advice that she should try giving her husband blow jobs if she's reluctant to have the intimacy of sex with him.

In Part II: Keys , Doyle discusses letting go of the ideas that she has clung to in the past in order to allow herself to evolve and continue evolving. It's not about clinging to a new set ideas, but rather accepting that life will involve a continual birth and rebirth of ideas. Doyle describes meeting Abby and knowing instantly that it was right. She also discusses needing to imagine a new life when letting go of the one you thought it was supposed to be.

In Part III: Free , Doyle describes the difficult process of deciding whether to leave her husband. She talks about letting go of the idea that she needed to be a martyr for her children, by realizing it's an unfair burden to place on them and that it was teaching them the wrong thing. Womanhood had to be more than just selflessness and letting go of your own desires. She talks about wanting to raise her children to be brave and to know themselves. She also had tell her mother that she wasn't welcome until she was ready to accept her and Abby together.

Doyle also talks how her bulimia and alcoholism were both products of her need to try to control her unhappy feelings. The then tried to be a perfect woman and it still left her unhappy and anxious. She then tried to take on an identity of being "broken and beautiful," but that implies that she's broken and there's a perfect version of herself she "should" be. Now, she's determined to accept herself as she is. She discusses her anxiety and depression and how she's dealt with it.

In terms of parenting, Doyle discusses raising her daughters to be feminists, but also realizing that she should be raising her son in the same way. Boys need to be taught that they have the freedom to be sensitive and to be taught that they should serve their family. Doyle also encourages parents to talk to their children, even when it's difficult. Doyle encourages teaching kids to use their "imagination" to help them empathize with others. She also believes that kids are overparented and underprotected. This generation tries to prevent kids from feeling any discomfort, when they should be allowing them to learn how to deal with stuff.

Doyle also discusses her activism and social issues, including the separation of families at the border and racism. She says that activism downstream is not enough, but people also have to fight "upstream" to address the policies and people that cause these downstream issues, or risk being complicit. She discusses her own activism and the process of learning and unlearning what she thinks she knows. Doyle encourages people to use their imagination to understand the bravery of parents who are willing to anything to make a better life for their children. In regards to race, Doyle acknowledges that she has more to figure out but wants to keep doing the work to keep fighting.

A number of chapters are also dedicated to the conflict between religion and her sexuality. Doyle welcomes questions because unasked questions become prejudices. Ultimately, Doyle says that people need to trust themselves and what they know is right, as opposed to what they are taught to believe.

For more detail, see the full Chapter-by-Chapter Summary .

If this summary was useful to you, please consider supporting this site by leaving a tip ( $2 , $3 , or $5 ) or joining the Patreon !

Book Review

I’ve been listening to Untamed by Glennon Doyle on audiobook on and off for the past week or so. It’s not typically something that would interest me, but it’s been so popular that I wanted to check it out anyway. I ended up liking it quite a bit more than I’d thought I would. Untamed was also the Reese’s Book Club pick for April 2020.

I went into this book with the mentality that I’m probably not the right reader for this book, but I’d try to enjoy what I can and ignore the rest. I ended up really liking a lot of it. Of course, Glennon Doyle is a memoirist, and this is essentially a life-advice-type memoir. If the idea of that sounds terrible to you, you can probably just stop here. If you don’t like the idea of reading something like that, I’m not prepared to say anything to change your mind.

On a high level, Untamed is about figuring out how not to care so much about what others think and what the world tells you to be. To that end, I liked many parts of it. Even though it’s something I feel like I more or less figured out a while ago, it’s nice to have that reassurance. It’s also interesting to see it written out and thought through coherently, and there’s a wide range of other related topics that are covered as well.

Doyle discusses her process of deconstructing the ideas that the world places on you and accepting the pain and loss of discarding those ideas to become a “wilder” and freer version of herself. Doyle goes from striving to be a perfect person, to owning an identity of herself as “broken and beautiful”, to finally coming to a self-acceptance of herself.

A lot of this book is about different ways to assess and identify what it is you want and finding the trust in yourself to pursue it. She also talks about this mindset and how it applies to her ideas of parenting. Doyle also touches upon a number of social topics, such as the child-separation policy or racism. She talks too about her depression and anxiety and how to be less controlling.

Untamed is actually Doyle’s third book. Her first book was about giving up her addictions to food and booze for marriage and kids. Her second was about learning about her husband Craig’s infidelity and figuring out how to reconstruct her marriage. In this book, we learn that Doyle has since ended that marriage and is now re-married to a woman, Abby.

Doyle backtracks somewhat some of the stuff she says in her previous books, which may bother her fans. After writing a book about how her marriage and family saved her, Doyle learns about her husband’s infidelity. She acknowledges that her second book (about reconstructing that marriage) may have been some attempt to fashion her life into a narrative that gave it all meaning.

If you wanted to pick apart this book, too, you probably could. There’s one part where she links one of her epiphanies to Buddhist philosophy and it totally mis-characterizes Buddha’s message*. Later on, Doyle tells a story about the Mona Lisa which is extremely questionable in terms of its historical accuracy (saying that Da Vinci asked the model to smile wider, but the model refused). She neglects to acknowledge the questionable provenance of that story.

My point is not that you should therefore disregard Doyle. Instead, I would just advise readers to take what you can from the book, but not to treat it as gospel. I think the message that Doyle wants to impart is a good one, and I think her journey to figuring out how to live her life and what type of person to be is one that most people, and especially women, wrestle with. But I had to accept that Doyle is simply a writer who is going to force facts to fit into her narrative, even if it’s not entirely accurate.

I struggle with self-help books because they are just so earnest and so self-serious. There’s one part where Doyle takes her daughter to the mall to get her ears pierced and the technician asks Doyle if she’s the child’s mother. Doyle responds “I am trying to be” and I can just imagine the technician (who is probably a teenager doing a minimum wage job) rolling their eyes so hard at that response.

At the same time, I liked the message of that story, which was essentially about telling her kids that what’s right for one (in this case, getting her ears pierced) is not necessarily right for the other. And being brave for one person may mean being bold, but for another may be something quieter like standing up to peer pressure and not getting a piercing.

The book is full of these simple and not particularly earth-shattering messages, but bit by bit you might find that there’s something you needed a reminder of, or something that’s phrased in a way that you hadn’t thought about like that before or maybe something that you just happen to need to hear at this moment. For me, the part where she talks about how some mistake being controlling as being loving was something I’d never heard before, and it made me re-examine some of the relationships in my life.

(*In case you are curious, Doyle is saying that feeling both the good and the bad is part of life, it’s okay not to feel happy all the time. She tries to link that to Buddhist philosophy because they also believe that suffering is part of life. Except Buddhists believe that suffering is a part of life because of our selfish desires, and that letting go of your selfishness is the key to ridding yourself of suffering. It’s a pretty different mentality and sort of the opposite of the point Doyle is making.)

Untamed Audiobook Review

Doyle narrates the audiobook herself, and I think she did a good job with it. It runs a brisk 8 and a half hours via audiobook. Check out an audio clip here .

Read it or Skip it?

If you wanted to pick this book apart and to dissect whatever contradictions in her philosophies, you could do so easily. As I mentioned before, I don’t think anyone needs to take anything here as gospel. Instead, take the parts that inspire or comfort you and don’t worry about the rest. I don’t think Doyle is trying to say that she has all the answers. Rather, here are some things she has figured out in her life, and perhaps if you read this then some of it will help you figure out yours as well.

If you don’t like self-help books, I don’t think this one is going to change your mind. Self-help books are generally deadly earnest and writer tends to come off as a bit self-obsessed. But that’s just the nature of the genre.

Still, I think there’s some valuable observations in here. If you are someone who is searching for answers on how to live your life, there is plenty here that’s worth considering. Or if you just think this sounds like something you’d be interested in, I bet you’ll end up getting something out of it.

Ultimately, it’s not a difficult read. Take it with a grain of salt and try to go into it with an open mind.

See Untamed on Amazon.

Book Excerpt

Read the first pages of Untamed

Share this post

Middle of the Night

The Housemaid is Watching

She’s Not Sorry

The Seven Year Slip

Darling Girls

It Finally Happened + Summer Romances

Best Literary Fiction of 2024 (New & Anticipated)

The Housemaid Book Series Recap

2024’s Best Book Club Books (New & Anticipated)

Bookshelf: Development Diary

Share your thoughts Cancel reply

I love this review! It’s very thoughtful and honest.

thank you cassie! much appreciated! :)

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Author Interviews

'there's no map': glennon doyle on living an 'untamed' life.

Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Buy Featured Book

Your purchase helps support NPR programming. How?

• Independent Bookstores

Author and blogger Glennon Doyle has something to tell all the women out there trying to put a brave face on a terrible situation, juggling home life with all the other expectations placed on them as the world seems like it's falling apart: "I think every woman on earth needs to lower her expectations for herself, exponentially. At this point, we're not trying to be amazing. We are just trying to make it through the day." Her new book is called Untamed , and it details how she found her truest self — ending an unsatisfying marriage, and falling deeply in love with a woman while discovering how to be brave.

Interview Highlights

On when women start losing themselves

Around 10 years old, we begin to lose who we are, when we start learning how to please ... when we start to internalize our social programming. So that's when we learn how to be a "good girl," a "strong boy, a "good Christian, a "good woman." And, you know, over and over again, we hear from women that their taming, their social programming, came when they learned how to be quiet, and kind, and sweet, and accommodating, and pleasing, and pretty.

On her first marriage

What I would say is that I had a bad marriage to a good man. Right? I had a kind of marriage where I was not happy, and there was a lot going on that was less than freeing and less than true. But because he was a good man ... I had the kind of marriage that women are trained to be grateful for. ... I think, over and over again, there's sort of a gaslighting of women. It's everywhere. It's every time we admit that we want more, we're told we should just be grateful for what you have. It's the first story I ever learned about women, like the story of Eve: If you want more and you go for it, you will destroy yourself and the world.

On meeting her partner Abby Wambach

When I met Abby, there was a voice inside of me that I finally recognized as my own. ... And following my love for her was a turning point in my life, but not just because I chose her. It was because I finally honored myself. Right? I chose to, for the first time, abandon everyone else's expectations of me instead of abandoning myself. And I think that's what I'm trying to get out of this book, which is this idea that we can let go of the expectations, and shoulds, and supposed-tos that the world gives us and just honor who we actually are and have always been.

On modeling marriage and motherhood for her children

I decided to stay in a less than healthy marriage for a long time because of my children. ... One day I was braiding my daughter Tish's hair, and I looked at her and I thought, oh, my God, I'm staying in this marriage for her. But would I want this marriage for her? And if I would not want this marriage for her, then why am I modeling bad love and calling that good mothering?

"I'm so sick of self-improvement ..." says author Glennon Doyle. "Stop trying to be a good this, a good that ... and just be who you are." Doyle says her new book Unt amed is about "self returning." Amy Paulson/Random House Publishing Group hide caption

"I'm so sick of self-improvement ..." says author Glennon Doyle. "Stop trying to be a good this, a good that ... and just be who you are." Doyle says her new book Unt amed is about "self returning."

And that's when I realized, oh this idea of mother as martyr — that mothers have to prove their love by slowly dying, by burying their own needs, and their own ambition, and their own desires, and their own emotions ... this is just another way we get women to disappear. ... Don't take culture's definition of good mothering, because all culture will tell you is to keep disappearing. What I decided is that a good mother is not a martyr, a good mother is a model, right? That children will only allow themselves permission to live as fully as their parents do. And so we must not settle for any relationship, for any community, for any nation less true and beautiful than the one we would want for our babies.

On resisting the urge to run everything by your girlfriends

I have a boy and two girls — until they tell me otherwise — and my son had a bunch of friends over and I walked into the room and I said to them, is anybody hungry? And all the boys answered, "yes," without taking their eyes off the TV. The girls said nothing, took their eyes off the TV and started looking at each other's faces. And I'll never forget it, because I thought: Oh, we girls, in every moment of uncertainty are trained not to look inside themselves, but to look outside of themselves for approval, for permission, for consensus. ... A girl who at 10 years old can't tell you if she's hungry or not, becomes a woman at 40 years old who is still asking her friends if they approve of the person she's dating. ...There's decisions that we can make as a community that we can call our friends about. And there are decisions that can only be made by going inward and deciding for ourselves. Because in the end, when we're talking about our lives, there's no map. Right? We're all pioneers.

On the coronavirus

Women taking care of everything during extraordinary circumstances is nothing new. Right? We've been doing this since the beginning of time. This is just a different iteration of it. And so, you know, every woman that I know right now is juggling work, relationships, home, her own anxiety, her own fear, which is what we do every day.

This is a hell of a lot too much family togetherness for me. ... what I'm saying to my people is: We just lower expectations right now. Right? Our children are not going to learn what they would have learned in school. You know what they'll learn? They will learn that sometimes things are completely out of our control. And in the end, what matters is how we take care of ourselves and each other. So whatever you need to do to take care of yourself and each other. Do it right now.

On her strategy for finding her inner voice

One of the reasons it is so hard to find our inner voice is because the voices outside of us are so loud. Over time, we have lived more and more of an exterior life. Right? We are always looking at our phones. We are always listening to the TV. We are always listening to outer voices. And so one of the things that changed my life is a practice of spending a few minutes a day just with no other voices, and just listening. Getting back in touch with the inner voice ... I do not think that everyone needs to leave their husband and marry a female Olympian — although I highly recommend it — but what I do think is that everyone needs to practice honoring that inner voice.

This interview was edited for radio by Hiba Ahmad and Hadeel Al-Shalchi, and adapted for the Web by Beth Novey and Petra Mayer.

• Project 2025
• Kamala Harris
• Supreme Court
• Abortion Bans
• Women in Politics
• Masculinity

More Than A Magazine, A Movement

• Arts & Entertainment

“Untamed”: Brave Means Living From the Inside Out

Reading Glennon Doyle’s memoir, Untamed , is diving into an adventure of what we can become. We collectively grow stronger as we are more willing to ask hard questions.

Doyle wants to know, “Where did my spark go at ten? How had I lost myself?” She ponders and worries about her own daughters and how to help them never lose themselves.

The book begins at the zoo thinking about being restless and frustrated like a caged animal. Have we as women forgotten our wildness? She wants to yell, “You are not crazy. You are a goddamn cheetah,” to Tabitha, the cheetah at the zoo—but also at everyone else.

Many of us feel locked into our roles and say to ourselves, “I should be grateful. I have a good enough life here. It’s crazy to long for what doesn’t even exist.” 

But, the “fenceless, wide-open savannas” do exist, Doyle tells readers, and maybe we can learn to reject our taming and “sleep under an ink-black, silent sky filled with stars” where we can create our own realties and break out of our cages.

Doyle knows about feeling caged, as her “childhood bulimia morphed into alcoholism and drug use, and [kept her] numb for sixteen years.”

In her first book, Carry On, Warrior : Thoughts on Life Unarmed , Doyle reminds us that people are messy. And in Love Warrior , after she discovered her husband’s infidelity and her marriage crumbled, she kept walking forward when she did not know what to do next.

Now in Untamed , she brings us into her new life and love with Abby Wambach.

When I chose to leave my marriage and the continent I was on, many people called me brave . I found it challenging because I did not feel courageous —and in fact looked both words up in the dictionary, often trying to understand what they were telling me.

If you found this article helpful, please consider supporting our independent reporting and truth-telling for as little as $5 per month.

Doyle asks us, “Will we be brave enough to unlock ourselves? Will we be brave enough to set ourselves free? Will we finally step out of our cages and say to ourselves, to our people, and to the world: Here I Am!”

As a travel reporter, this section particularly resonated with me:

“I understand now that no one else in the world knows what I should do. Because no one has ever lived or will ever live this life I am attempting to live, with my gifts and challenges and past and people. Every life is an unprecedented experiment. This life is mine alone. So I have stopped asking people for directions to places they’ve never been. There is no map. We are all pioneers.”

On assignment, I am often in new places, constantly consulting a map and guidebook to make sure I wring as much as possible out of every moment on the road. I take that persistence into my personal life, and I want that same intensity all the time. I believed in the past that someone else knew better than me what my next steps were. But this strategy did not work out for me—and I am not sure if it does for anyone else.

In order to live a different life, Doyle asks, “How can we begin to live from our imagination instead of our indoctrination?”

She tells us that “imagination is how personal and worldwide revolutions begin.”

“I have a dream,” said Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning,” said Gloria Steinem.”

What do you dream? 

Doyle explains that she abandoned the should ‘s, the rules and the memos from the world about what life was supposed to look like. She asked herself, “What kind of life/relationship/family/world might I have created if I’d been braver?”

I loved when she wrote,

“I quit buying the idea that a successful marriage is one that lasts till death, even if one or both spouses are dying inside it. I’d take this vow to myself: I’ll not abandon myself. Not ever again. Me and myself: We are till death do us part.”

I found for myself in my marriage that both my spouse and I were completely on his side, with neither of us on mine. I could no longer tolerate living that way abandoning myself again and again.

One of the most powerful lines in Doyle’s book was:

“Being human is not hard because you’re doing it wrong, it’s hard because you’re doing it right. You will never change the fact that being human is hard, so you must change your idea that it was ever supposed to be easy.” 

If we are looking for the easy way, we may miss our best lives. It might be terrifying to go after our dreams—but worth it.

Doyle also outlines the issues with how we train children to be brave—and how this must change.

“We tell our children that brave means feeling afraid and doing it anyway, but is this the definition we want them to carry as they grow older? That is not the understanding of brave I want my children to have. I do not want my children to become people who abandon themselves to please the crowd. “Brave does not mean feeling afraid and doing it anyway. Brave means living from the inside out. Brave means, in every uncertain moment, turning inward, feeling for the Knowing, and speaking it out loud. Since the Knowing is specific, personal, and ever changing, so is brave. Whether you are brave or not cannot be judged by people on the outside. Sometimes being brave requires letting the crowd think you’re a coward. Sometimes being brave means letting everyone down but yourself.”

When I chose to leave medical school and become a preschool teacher, many people told me I was making the wrong choice. However, I listened to my inner voice, and it turned out to be the right path for me.

As Doyle says, “Brave is not asking the crowd what is brave. Brave is deciding for oneself.”

I did not take a poll or follow along. I knew I had to make a change and I was scared but I believed it was going to work out.

Often we are told as little girls, “that our loud voices, bold opinions, and strong feelings are ‘too much’ and unladylike, so we learn to not trust our personalities . Childhood stories promise us that girls who dare to leave the path or explore get attacked by big bad wolves and pricked by deadly spindles, so we learn to not trust our curiosity . We were taught to believe that who we are in our natural state is bad and dangerous. They convinced us to be afraid of ourselves. The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that there was something wrong with me. Do with your Self whatever it is you want to do. You can trust your Self.”

I hope that we can change the story telling for ourselves and other little girls. It is okay to be who we are. I can trust my personality and my curiosity and follow my dreams.

Doyle now tells her children, “I see your fear, and it’s big. I also see your courage, and it’s bigger. We can do hard things, baby. We are fireproof.”

What would our lives look like if we listened to Doyle?

She wonders, “Maybe Eve was never meant to be our warning. Maybe she was meant to be our model. Own your wanting. Eat the apple. Let it burn.”

The coronavirus pandemic and the response by federal, state and local authorities is fast-moving .  During this time,  Ms . is keeping a focus on aspects of the crisis—especially as it impacts women and their families—often not reported by mainstream media.   If you found this article helpful,  please consider supporting our independent reporting and truth-telling for as little as $5 per month .

About Lisa Niver

You may also like:, may 2024 reads for the rest of us, ‘easy beauty’: a memoir of motherhood and disability.

Doyle’s “Untamed” Rewrites Personal Truths in the Wake of Divorce

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

This past April, Reese Witherspoon choose Untamed   by Glennon Doyle ( The Dial Press ) as a Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Book Pick. The book has gone on to garner praise from critics, authors and readers alike. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love raves that “ Untamed will liberate women — emotionally, spiritually, and physically. It is phenomenal,” while Booktrib favorite Brené Brown lauded the book’s ability to move the reader, saying “Some books shake you by the shoulder while others steal your heart. In Untamed , Glennon does both at the exact same time.”

A FOLLOW-UP TO LOVE WARRIOR

Several years ago, I had read Love Warrior   by Glennon Doyle Melton and I recall feeling inspired and moved by her motivating and vulnerable approach to overcoming difficult times and finding love. Her marriage had some challenges, but by the end of the book they had worked everything out and were together, stronger than ever.  As soon as I finished the book I googled Glennon (as I often do look up an author to learn more) only to discover that she had just announced she and her husband were separated and she was in a relationship with Abby Wambach, the famous soccer player.

That powerful book got a lot of press. It was authentic and true to the author when written, but so much had changed in her life that by the time Love Warrior was released, her truth had evolved. Doyle was brave to continue moving forward, setting an example in doing so, as our stories are always constantly changing. We all have the right to tell our truths as they come, and Untamed  is the newest edition of Glennon Doyle’s truth.

Glennon has a unique voice that many people find relatable and enjoyable. Her story is tragic and victorious at the same time. She was bulimic at 10 years old, and as she got older she became an alcoholic. She got pregnant at 25 and married the father because they decided that was the right thing to do at the time. They had two other children after that, and then he cheated on her. Initially, they worked things out, and that is when Love Warrior was written. Then Glennon and her husband, Craig, split and she fell in love with and married Abby Wambach.

LEARNING FROM THE PAST TO BUILD A HAPPIER FUTURE

Untamed  is mostly about her life today, although she revisits her early struggles often. While she uses these to illustrate how far she’s come and drive home certain points, I do get the feeling her struggles with body image, insecurity and anxiety are not over.

I enjoyed many of Glennon’s parenting stories and admire her activist efforts, her ambition and her continual quest for the best of everything. Her writing is fun and easy to read with a bit of “therapy speak.” Sometimes I got the feeling she is recounting conversations from therapy sessions. This is a quick read with some valuable nuggets on living your best life, and being the parent, partner and person you want to be.

According to Glennon, today she uses her weaknesses as superpowers and channels her sensitivity and anxiety into being a good activist. Her friend, author Elizabeth Gilbert, advised her not to spend her entire life concentrating on helping other people, but Glennon is driven. She was a grade school teacher, a Christian mommy blogger, and is currently the founder and president of Together Rising .

WHAT WOMEN WANT FOR THEMSELVES AND THE WORLD

Glennon is a role model and an advocate for women. She actively works to make changes. Among the best nuggets in the book are the ones she gathered from asking other women what they want out of life. I’ll leave you with some of what they said:

I want a minute to take a deep breath.

I want rest, peace, passion.

I want good food and true, wild, intimate sex.

I want relationships with no lies.

I want to be comfortable in my own skin.

I want to be seen, to be loved.

I want joy and safety for my children and for everyone else’s children.

I want justice for all.

I want help, community, and connection.

I want to be forgiven, and I want to finally forgive.

I want enough money and power to stop feeling afraid.

I want to find my purpose down here and live it out fully.

I want to look at the news and see less pain, more love.

I want to look at the people in my life and really see them and love them.

I want to look in the mirror and really see myself.

I want to feel alive.

Untamed is available for purchase.

Buy this Book!

Jennifer Blankfein

Jennifer Gans Blankfein is a freelance marketing consultant and book reviewer. She graduated from Lehigh University with a Psychology degree and has a background in advertising. Her experience includes event coordination and fundraising along with editing a weekly, local, small business newsletter. Jennifer loves to talk about books, is an avid reader, and currently writes a book blog, Book Nation by Jen . She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two sons and black lab.

Previous Post "Cult Writers:" An Odd Yet Remarkable World of Fiction Few Know Exist

Next post authorbuzz giveaway: how do things change, you may also like, books & looks podcast: has tourism changed forever with paige mcclanahan.

7 Books About Finding Belonging in the Aftermath of Family Trauma

Camaraderie and lively discussions found at sacramento’s booze and books club, leave a reply cancel reply.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

BookTrib Newsletter

Get the latest on releases, authors and all things books right in your inbox!

Book Promotion

Discover books.

© 2024 BookTrib.. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Accessibility Statement This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

• Mystery / Thrillers
• Action & Adventure
• Sci-Fi / Fantasy
• Biographies
• Young Adult
• Children’s Books
• The Exclamation Point!
• Best Sellers & Trending
• In the News
• Press Releases
• Science Fiction
• Fantasy Authors
• Business Authors
• Author Interviews
• Video Interviews
• Essays & Articles
• Book Excerpts
• Books to Screen
• Book Club Picks
• BookTrib Lit Picks Sign up for your FREE eBook.
• Our Mission
• Contributors
• Write For Us
• Book Giveaways

My Nightstand

Enter your information to download the chapter now.

Fill Out The Form and Receive A Free Book Marketing Consultation

Review: Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Untamed by Glennon Doyle is not really the type of book I tend to read but I have to say it was interesting and made me think.

I’m not a big nonfiction reader. I think it’s because I work in journalism and I’m a huge news junkie. So I consume a lot of news. When it comes to reading, I crave fiction and the art of storytelling. But since starting Book Club Chat two years ago, I’ve started to read more nonfiction and memoirs. Some of the best ones include Becoming , To Catch and Kill and Killers of the Flower Moon . But despite reading more in nonfiction, I really haven’t read anything in the self-help category. 

I’m a huge fan of Reese Witherspoon’s book club and have read so many of the books she recommends. So when I saw she picked Untamed by Glennon Doyle for her April book, my first thought was, “wow, what an amazing cover.” And my second thought was, “Who is Glennon Doyle?” I somehow missed that she’s a hugely popular writer who was really propelled into the mainstream by Oprah. 

I kept seeing this book everywhere and several book clubs reached out to me to write questions for it. As I’m here to serve my fantastic readers, I purchased the book so I could write questions. I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I have to say, I liked it. And there were a couple points that I started to really ponder.

Glennon’s story

If you need a refresher like I did, prior to Untamed , Glennon Doyle   is the author of Love Warrior (the Oprah Book Club selection) and Carry On, Warrior . She was known as a Christian mommy blogger who focused on self-discovery, parenting and faith. But since her second book was published, Glennon divorced her husband and married soccer star Abby Wambach. And in doing so, it seems she finally embraced who she really is.

I really enjoyed reading about the first time she met Abby and the process for her to come out to her fans. She talks a lot about Abby, who I’ve always been a fan of, and I really liked reading about their relationship. 

Glennon seems to be very honest about pretty much every aspect of her life. She’s still fairly close with her ex-husband, in fact, there’s a scene where Abby and him are playing soccer together. She highlights blended families aren’t easy and it’s just part of the process. 

She also covers her past including getting clean and sober. Glennon was bulimic as a teenager, which has had lasting impacts on her. She definitely tries to uncover where that pain came from and you wonder if it’s because she wasn’t allowed to love who she really wanted to love until she was in her 40s. There’s also talk about faith and what religion really means to her. 

The self-help part

Glennon loves her metaphors! The book starts off with her witnessing a cheetah appearing caged in by her zoo life, which serves as metaphor for all people, especially women, being caged in by society’s expectations. I will say Glennon goes a little too much on metaphors but I see the point she’s making overall. She really seems to want women to take control of their lives and not to give up on their wants and desires just because their environment tries to force them in a box. 

In the end, she wants women to be comfortable with being themselves, which is a lot easier said than done. But a quote I especially liked: “When a woman finally learns that pleasing the world is impossible, she becomes free to learn how to please herself.”

The book is full of quotes and future Pinterest pins. 

Glennon is a good writer and it’s interesting how she framed key events in life and those close to her and turned it into lessons for all women. So it’s not so much a straight-up memoir but really a memoir and a self-help guide. 

I think it’s easy to think that we have it generally figured out. So I have to say, I’m really glad these book clubs asked for questions, I don’t think I would have read it otherwise and I’m glad I did. I won’t say my life is changed but it did give me plenty to think about. And it’s a good reminder of being true to yourself no matter what. 

Alright, book clubs – the questions are ready for you! Check them out here . 

You May Also Like

• Wild Ginger in the Rhubarb by Eule Grey: Book Review
• Three Women in Paradise by Victoria Avilan: Book Review
• Here for the Wrong Reasons by Annabel Paulsen and Lydia Wang: Book Review
• Paradise Lost and Found by K. Aten: Book Review
• Loser of the Year by Carrie Byrd: Book Review

Find your next sapphic read

Untamed by Glennon Doyle: Book Review

For many years, Glennon Doyle denied her own discontent. She strived to be the best wife and the best mother. She tackled her addictions, wrote a couple of best-sellers and started an organization that helps millions of women around the world. She should’ve been the happiest in her entire life. But she wasn’t. She was weary, overwhelmed, and felt stuck. She knew something wasn’t right when one question kept popping up over and over: Wasn’t it all supposed to be more beautiful than this?

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. It was like an awakening, for these words did not come from on high, they came from within. This was her own voice, the voice of the girl she had been before the world told her who to be. Glennon decided to abandon the world’s expectation of her and embrace knowing her true self. Now she takes us on her journey of realization. She had to be willing to burn down what she was taught to want and rise from the ashes knowing the truth about who she is and who she was meant to be with. Only then would she truly be free and start living and loving as she was intended.

Embracing The Knowing

This is not only a love story it is a testimony to who we are as women. Doyle takes us on her journey to reveal the source of her addictions that started to plague her early in life. What she reveals is the horrible truth that women, from an early age, are conditioned to the world’s expectations. We are told to be sweet, kind, and most of all silent to our own desires. Above all else, we must appear happy even if we are not.

For years, Doyle listened to the outside voices telling her to be smart, beautiful, and happy. Until one day at a speaking engagement, she had a light bulb moment. A beautiful, platinum blonde light bulb walked into the room, and a different voice – the correct voice — told her this was the woman she was meant to be with. She knew right then that there was more to living than the expectations of others. This voice inside her, what she refers to as The Knowing , told her to go against those societal norms and embrace her true self and love this woman. She has shared this story, this philosophy with all of us. She tells us to listen to that voice that has been quiet for too long. It is this voice that will lead us to becoming good mothers and good partners. For when we know and love ourselves, we can truly take on any challenge the world may throw our way.

So, I’m just totally going to go there. This has one of my all-time favorite “first time” stories. Doyle doesn’t provide a lot of physical detail, yet she does a great job of amplifying the emotions created by their first embrace of each other. She describes both of them as physically shaking, and I could feel that in the depths of my soul. It was the nerves of expectation combined with the relief of finally being in the room with the person you know you’re supposed to be with. And it was the joy of touching that person, really touching them, for the first time. All of these feelings culminated in a capacity of love she never thought existed until that moment. I’m not ashamed to admit it, that story lodged in my heart and stayed there for days.

This is not a con. It is a clarification for readers. This is Glennon and Abby’s story. It is also a story about Glennon and how she came to love herself. ALSO, it’s an awesome story that gives women the tools to know who they are and how to be their best selves. Because of all of this great content, it’s not a chronological, beat-by-beat story of Glennon and Abby starting their lives together. It’s anecdotal and non-linear. Each story is paired with insight into who we are as women, how we tend to trap ourselves, and how we need to break out of those cages. So, you are getting a great love story, and you’re also getting great bonus material that may help you become better in life and love as a woman.

The Conclusion

This book has a fierce vulnerability that every woman should appreciate. Doyle takes us on her journey of discovering herself, embracing all that entails, and coming out on the other side profound, brave, and enlightened about the person she was meant to be. She shows us that we must be willing to embrace all the feelings we feel to help us become better mothers, better daughters, sisters, and wives, but most of all better fighters. I urge you to read this book, unleash your inner cheetah, and find out what it truly means to be untamed.

Excerpt from Untamed by Glennon Doyle

“I have something important to tell you. I’ve fallen in love. I’m wildly in love. Her name is Abby.”

My therapist’s mouth falls open, just enough for me to notice it. She says nothing for an eternal moment. Then she breathes very deeply and says, “Okay.”

She pauses, starts again. “Glennon, you know that whatever this is – it’s not real. These feelings are not real . Whatever future you’re imagining here: That’s not real, either. This is nothing but a dangerous distraction. It won’t end well. It has to stop.”

I start to say, “You don’t understand. This is different.” But then I think about all the people who have sat in this chair and insisted: This is different .

If she won’t let me have Abby, I need to make my case, at least, for never again having my husband.

“I cannot sleep with him again,” I say. “You know how hard I’ve tried. Sometimes I think I’ve forgiven. But then he climbs on top of me, and I hate him again. It’s been years and I don’t want to be difficult, so I close my eyes and try to float away until it’s over. But then I accidentally land back inside my body, and what I land in is white-hot fiery rage. It’s like: I try to go dead inside but there is always a little life left in me, and that life makes sex unbearable. I can’t be alive during sex, but I can’t get dead enough, either, so there’s no solution. I just – I don’t want to do it anymore.”

I am furious that tears come, but they do. I am begging now. Mercy, please.

Get This Book On Amazon

(this link works for Amazon US, Germany, and Canada)

[tweetthis]I just read this review for Untamed by Glennon Doyle[/tweetthis]

Bits and Bobs

ISBN number: 978-1984801258 Publisher: The Dial Press Glennon Doyle Online

If you enjoyed this book then you should also look at

You May Also Like

As Long As Love Lasts by Jea Hawkins: Book Review

And Playing The Role Of Herself by KE Lane: Book Review

Schuss by E.J. Noyes: Book Review

The Tina Lifestyle

Travel and Lifestyle

Books , Reviews · September 2, 2022

Untamed Book Review – Memoir by Glennon Doyle

Glennon Doyle Melton is a powerhouse; she’s an author, a blogger, and a mom of three. In her latest book, Untamed, she talks about the struggles many people face in their lives. She also tells readers what it was like for her to deal with challenges while balancing motherhood. Untamed is one woman’s story of how she learned to live life without regrets. I hope you enjoy this Untamed book review.

In this intimate memoir, Doyle talks about how she spent her whole life running away from what made her uncomfortable.

She was Oprah’s book club selection for her book Carry On, Warrior .

Untamed was the first book I read (I ended up listening to it on Audible ) by author Glennon Doyle. It’s a Reese’s Book Club pick, and  her selections  have yet to disappoint me. has yet to disappoint me. Just like me, you might’ve seen the many reviews and high praises for this book.

Get your copy of Untamed here .

Table of Contents

Untamed Book Summary

Glennon Doyle’s memoir Untamed is an inspiring story of how she found her way and her own voice through the darkness and embraced Motherhood with courage, intelligence, and heart-wrenching vulnerability.

Doyle tells her story of how she learned that being a responsible mother is not about dying for your children but teaching them to live fully.

She also tells the story of navigating divorce, creating a new family, and showing that even if families are not always perfect, people can still be happy.

The book also talks about how Doyle spent her whole life running away from what made her uncomfortable.

A book about how we can trust ourselves and set boundaries, it also touches on how we can make peace with ourselves, honoring our experiences, and unleashing our truest instincts.

Is Untamed a Self-Help Book?

Untamed is considered a self-help book as it is about one woman’s story who learned to live life without regrets.

What does Untamed mean? The title, Untamed, means being unafraid of the things in your past and present because you know they will not define who you are as long as you learn how to live life with joy rather than regret.

Glennon Doyle’s Wife: Soccer Star Abby Wambach

I loved reading about her love for Abby.

Doyle’s wife, Abby Wambach, is an athlete and author. Wamback played for the United States women’s soccer team from 2004-2012. Doyle and Wamback married in 2009.

Abby is an integral part of the story, as a big part of the book is how Doyle fell in love with Abby while still married to her husband.

The book starts with what was going on in Doyle’s marriage and the emotional turmoil she felt when it started feeling like something important had been missing that whole time. It ends with Doyle finding happiness for the first time in decades living with Abby.

My Thoughts on the Book Untamed and What I Learned From It

I loved reading this memoir. It was easy to connect with the author. The story is about love, from her first marriage all the way up until now, where Doyle has found happiness for herself as well as being a wonderful partner to Abby.

I learned from Untamed that love is messy, and sometimes it doesn’t come when we think it will, but eventually, everything works out.

The book was a great reminder to live our lives without regrets.

Who Should Read Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Everyone should read this book . If you’re a woman, if you’re a parent, or if you’ve been in an unhealthy marriage, you should read Untamed.

Untamed is one of the most honest and relatable books I have read in a long time.

This book should be required reading for every woman.

I recommend this to anyone considering marriage or divorce, someone looking for a new perspective on life and relationships, or people just interested in Glennon Doyle’s story of love found later in life.

Why You Should Read Untamed by Glennon Doyle

What I liked about Untamed and why I think you should read it is that I loved the honesty with which Doyle shares her story. The book is a reminder to live our lives without regrets.

I found that the writing style was easy to follow and entertaining but also powerful at times.

Untamed reminds us that there’s no shame in assessing where we’re at and getting clear on what matters most.

Untamed Book Club Questions

If the memoir Untamed is your next book club selection, consider these questions when you review the book :

• What was one thing about Glennon’s journey that moved you personally and can be applied to your own lives? 
• Was there anything you disagreed with in the book?
• What did you find to be the most compelling topic in the book?
• Did you agree with any of Glennon’s ideologies? 
• What was your favorite part of the book, and why? 

Glennon Doyle Untamed Quotes

• “When a woman finally learns that pleasing the world is impossible, she becomes free to learn how to please herself.” 
• “This life is mine alone. So I have stopped asking people for directions to places they’ve never been.” 
• “I will not stay, not ever again – in a room or conversation or relationship or institution that requires me to abandon myself.” 
• “Be careful with the stories you tell about yourself.” 
• “The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that there was something wrong with me.” 
• “There is no greater burden on a child than the unlived life of a parent.” 
• “The braver I am, the luckier I get.” 
• “All of the things that make a woman human are a good girl’s dirty secret.” 

New York Times Bestseller Glennon Doyle Books

Glennon Doyle is a New York Times bestselling author and a sought-after speaker whose humor, honesty, and insights are applauded by audiences around the world.

Glennon has three best-selling books, including the NY Times bestseller Love Warrior, which was an Oprah’s Book Club Selection.

Her first book, Carry On Warrior , also a bestseller, was based on some of the most popular blog posts from her blog, Momastery.

Untamed is her third book and was a Resse Witherspoon Book Club Selection.

Listen to Untamed on Audible. Get two free books with a 30-day trial.

What Should I Read if I Like Untamed?

If you liked the book Untamed by Glennon Doyle, you might also enjoy these book recommendations.

• Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
• The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
• Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
• Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
• Wild by Cheryl Strayed
• Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides / Middles

You might also enjoy:  How To Read More Books: 12 Easy Ways

Final Thoughts on Glennon Doyle’s Intimate Memoir Untamed Book Review

Start rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.

One of the most powerful themes in Untamed is that you can live a life without regrets. It’s not an easy feat, but by following Glennon Doyle’s galvanizing wake-up call, it may be possible for others to find peace with themselves, their past mistakes, and the world’s expectations. If this sounds like something you would want to read about, too, click  here to buy your copy  today!

You’ll Also Love

Tinalifestyle.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.

Copyright © 2024 The Tina Lifestyle · Theme by 17th Avenue

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy

• Biographies & Memoirs
• Arts & Literature

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Untamed Paperback – International Edition, March 12, 2020

• Print length 352 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Untamed
• Publication date March 12, 2020
• Dimensions 8.5 x 5.31 x 0.83 inches
• ISBN-10 1785043358
• ISBN-13 978-1785043352
• See all details

Customers who bought this item also bought

From the Publisher

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Untamed (March 12, 2020)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1785043358
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1785043352
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.9 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 5.31 x 0.83 inches
• #25 in Biographies of Artists, Architects & Photographers (Books)

Videos for this product

Click to play video

Is this book worth the HYPE?

My Honest Review - Buy this book!

AllThingsIntentional

How this book let's you refocus on what is important to you

Book Chat Live

Such a fantastic read!

Drew’s Reviews

Best book ever! Hard but Hopeful! If you read anything-THIS!

Mom UnBalanced

What Untamed did for Christelle during lockdown

About the author, glennon doyle.

GLENNON DOYLE

Author, Activist, Founder of Together Rising, and Host of the We Can Do Hard Things Podcast

Glennon Doyle is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller UNTAMED, a Reese’s Book Club selection, which has sold over two million copies. She is also the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller LOVE WARRIOR, an Oprah’s Book Club selection, and CARRY ON, WARRIOR. An activist and “patron saint of female empowerment” (People), Glennon hosts the WE CAN DO HARD THINGS Podcast. She is the founder and president of Together Rising, an all-women-led nonprofit organization that has revolutionized grassroots philanthropy – raising over $35 million for women, families, and children in crisis. Glennon lives in Florida with her wife and three children.

For more information on Glennon, please visit www.glennondoyle.com

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 71% 16% 7% 3% 2% 71%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 71% 16% 7% 3% 2% 16%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 71% 16% 7% 3% 2% 7%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 71% 16% 7% 3% 2% 3%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 71% 16% 7% 3% 2% 2%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the content enlightening, insightful, and a great read. They also praise the writing style as artfully written and deeply meaningful.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the content enlightening, insightful, and powerful. They also describe the messages as an exquisite invitation to become completely you. Readers also say the style is relatable and liberating.

"...norms tell them to be- I found Glennon's messages to be a powerful force of encouragement , validation, and affirmation...." Read more

"...The raw honesty of Glennon Doyle is so refreshing and real . She doesn’t sugarcoat or try and make herself look good...." Read more

"... Thought provoking and offering some serious perspective of things I most often bury (the Ache)...." Read more

"...and unsure of where you're life is heading, this is a great place to learn about possibilities and knowing." Read more

Customers find the book a great read with value in the words. They also say it's worth their time and energy to read, and maybe even reread.

"...Thank you, Glennon, for this beautiful, inspirational, and deeply needed book ...." Read more

" good read and author just not for me.. but highly advertised" Read more

"...So much value in these words. Worth your time and energy to read , and maybe even reread!" Read more

"... Great book to own so you can look back!" Read more

Customers find the writing style of the book artful, brilliantly bare, and easy to understand. They also say the book has a nice cover and is in good condition.

"...Thank you, Glennon, for this beautiful , inspirational, and deeply needed book...." Read more

"Just wow... the most beautiful and heartbreaking book I’ve read all year...." Read more

" This book is so beautiful , you'll want to inhale it. It is an exquisite invitation to become so completely you...." Read more

"The author is amazing & her writing style is relateable & liberating." Read more

Reviews with images

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

Adele Says Untamed By Glennon Doyle Transformed Her Outlook on Life

"This book will shake your brain and make your soul scream," she wrote.

Our editors handpick the products that we feature. We may earn commission from the links on this page.

• Published in 2020, Untamed is Doyle's memoir about leaving her marriage and finding a new kind of happiness.
• "I am so ready for myself after reading this book! It’s as if I just flew into my body for the very first time," Adele said.

Is it time for Adele to follow in Oprah's footsteps , and start her own book club ? Based on the singer's most recent Instagram post , which contains an impassioned review for Glennon Doyle's book Untamed , the answer is yes. Adele is ready for celebrity book club stardom—or, at the very least, a Goodreads page where we can read more reviews.

"If you're ready—this book will shake your brain and make your soul scream. I am so ready for myself after reading this book! It’s as if I just flew into my body for the very first time," Adele raved .

Untamed, which was named a Reese's Book Club Pick , is the story of Glennon Doyle's awakening, more or less. Doyle made a name for herself with the 2016 memoir Love Warrior , which was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club Pick. Her third memoir , Untamed follows the dissolution of Doyle's marriage, and how she found love with soccer star Abby Wambach. The book begins with a stunner of a line: “Four years ago, married to the father of my three children, I fell in love with a woman.”

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

More importantly, though, Untamed is a book about one woman listening to her inner voice—and that's what Adele noted in her review. Adele described reading Untamed as a literally life-changing experience. "Anyone who has any kind of capacity to truly let go and give into yourself with any kind of desire to hold on for dear life - Do it. Read it. Live it. Practice it. We are a lot! But we are meant to be a lot!" she wrote.

Given the revelation-a-page pace of Untamed , Adele had advice for anyone who wants to read it, too: Don't be caught without a highlighter on hand. "You’ll want to refer back to it trust me!" she wrote.

At the end of her caption, Adele reflected on how Untamed changed her outlook on life. "I never knew that I am solely responsible for my own joy, happiness and freedom!! Who knew our own liberation liberates those around us? Cause I didn’t!! I thought we were meant to be stressed and disheveled, confused and selfless like a Disney character! ProBloodyFound!!"

Here, Adele seems to paraphrase Doyle herself: "When a woman finally learns that pleasing the world is impossible, she becomes free to learn how to please herself.”

For more stories like this, sign up for our newsletter .

Elena Nicolaou is the former culture editor at Oprah Daily. 

Culture & News

David Wroblewski's Bannock

Frank's "Mexican Lobotomy"

MyKayla Skinner Asks Simone Biles for a Truce

Soothing Books for Chaotic Times

Kamala Harris Chooses Gov. Tim Walz as Her VP Pick

Serena Says a Restaurant Denied Her Family a Table

Suni Lee Wins Her Third Medal of the 2024 Olympics

Meghan on Publicly Sharing Her Trauma

How Did Family Dogs End Up on WWII Front Lines?

Jonathan Owens Racts to Simone Biles’ Gold Medal

Meghan Markle Makes Rare Comment About Her Kids

Book Review: “Untamed” by Glennon Doyle

Mahvash Mossaed

Untamed is somewhat of a nonfiction work, somewhat of a memoir, somewhat of a self-help book by Glennon Doyle. Doyle tells us of her experiences as a woman and how she broke through and freed herself from the cages that society and people create for us. She encourages women to be brave enough to re-examine their own emotionally confused selves so they, too, can manage to free themselves from these cages. In this book, Doyle goes a long way to convince us women that something is quite wrong and not working with our old self. She conveys that we are indeed in dire need, and we are overdue for making a big splash and transform ourselves into new, improved women.

In the book, the author is angry at times, and at times, heart broken and bitter. She teaches women not to be satisfied with being only a sparrow, but to use this book as a manual, so, like her, they can become an eagle too. She plays a victim at times, and at other times, she becomes an aggressive cheetah, newly out of her cage. Whether she is a victim or a cheetah, I don’t think this book is easy to digest for women from a lot of other countries who have a completely different set of values than she. To them, she could pass as overly confident and missing the kind of female strength, which is hidden in a woman’s softness and tolerance. We each have our own reality. Her reality does not match the universal woman.

I never understood why it is that the media and the public mistake being honest and raw with being shocking and to astound your readers or viewers with your most dramatic stories of being raped, molested, hooked on drugs and alcohol, being a victim of abuse. This has become almost the norm and the usual formula to spice up a story. I guess that’s what sells a memoir. In this book, the author is taking us with her on the journey of her struggles with depression, alcohol, a bad marriage. Okay, we buy it all, even though we have heard this tune many times before. Come to think of it, we women, do we really need a manual to be a woman? To be a strong woman, to be a liberated woman, to be an assertive, independent woman? Don’t get me wrong — I enjoyed reading this book and having Glennon Doyle lecture us. I didn’t so much enjoy the book’s beginning, but I somewhat warmed up to it towards the end.

When I turned the last page and put the book down, I realized that all these memoirs and self-help books more or less are the same. They are all about what we already know but somehow had forgotten. We read them anyway, just as a reminder to ourselves.   

About the Author

Glennon Doyle   is the author of #1  New York Times  bestsellers Untamed  (a Reese’s Book Club selection) and Love Warrior  (an Oprah’s Book Club selection),   as well as the  New York Times  bestseller Carry On Warrior.  An activist and thought leader, Glennon is the founder and president of Together Rising , an all-women led nonprofit organization that has revolutionized grassroots philanthropy – raising over $25 Million for women, families, and children in crisis. She lives in Florida with her wife and three children. 

• Buy the book on Amazon
• http://www.untamedbook.com

Book Review: Nate Silver makes a compelling case for taking more risks in ‘On the Edge’

On eve of season, UNC soccer coaching giant Dorrance retires

Georgia no. 1 in preseason ap top 25 and ohio state no. 2 as expanded sec, big ten flex muscles, paris closes the olympics, and los angeles turns to tom cruise for its 2028 mission, a'ja wilson, us women hold off france to win eighth straight olympic basketball gold medal, u.s. gymnast jordan chiles asked to return bronze medal; usoc will appeal.

WRAL Late News

WRAL WeatherCenter Forecast

Evening Pick 3 Pick 4 and Cash 5

Daytime Pick 3 and Pick 4 Drawing

Powerball Drawing

August Book Review | 'Same as It Ever Was'

A great choice anytime, Claire Lombardo’s “Same As It Ever Was,” is a beautifully written novel perfect for an end of summer page-turner. This family drama challenges us to think about the relationships we choose to invest in and when we may need to them go.

In this 512-page novel, “Same As It Ever Was” author, Claire Lombardo uses every word to help us see Julia, a woman who finds life more difficult than most. Motherhood, marriage, and friendships simultaneously underwhelm and overwhelm her.

This is a messy, hopeful, heartbreaking and suspenseful novel about complicated relationships, forgiveness and seeing each other for who we are. It grabbed me on page one and held me tight.

Through Julia’s eyes we experience her life, and we see ourselves or someone we know. A fraught childhood, a neglectful distant mother, Julia is still craving her love and approval at 57. We see a challenging loving marriage, an unusual friendship, infidelity and depression. And Julia’s haunting constant companion of self-doubt, do I belong? Who hasn’t asked this question?

 Our protagonist, Julia is a lonely, barely coping mother in her 30s. She meets Helen Russo, who is magnetic, comforting and worldly and 30 years her senior. Helen swoops in, befriends Julia, takes her under her wing (and whisks her off into the Russo family orbit.

 Julia and Helen develop an immediate bond and it becomes a close, and dangerous-feeling friendship. And trouble ensues. Julia’s husband Mark wants Helen to stay out of their lives. It devastates Julia.

 Twenty years later Julia is thrown off balance when she crosses paths with Helen in the grocery store. Why is Julia ruffled? She is settled, adeptly hosting dinner parties and yet still vulnerable.

 I didn’t always like Julia, she can be self-absorbed and whiny and yet I deeply cared for her. My heart ached for her and Lombardo wouldn’t let us look away. Julia stayed with me long after the last page.

 “Same As It Ever Was” can be found at our local libraries.

Book Review: 'How to Leave the House' by Nathan Newman marks the debut of a bold new fiction voice

“How to Leave the House” by Nathan Newman marks the debut of a new voice in fiction, writes Associated Press reviewer Rob Merrill

Before you read a word of “How to Leave the House” by Nathan Newman, it may help to know that a TV adaptation is already in the works. This is a book that unfolds like it’s destined for the small screen. “It was a cinematic sunset: pinks, oranges and periwinkle blues… Beneath it all was lonely Natwest, a single figure on the empty street…” That passage is about midway through the book, but you get the point. There are other parts that read like stage directions and the novel’s point of view switches from inside the mind of our “hero,” Natwest, to the perspectives of various town residents he encounters during the day.

Let’s back up. This is the story of a young Englishman named Natwest. It is the day before he departs his hometown for the first time for university. He’s intelligent, opinionated, and planning to study art history. He has ordered something embarrassing and the Royal Mail has not delivered it on time. The object in question is revealed on page 50, but it’s too funny to spoil. The plot, such as it is, unfolds over the course of 24 hours as Natwest leaves his house initially for a trip to the post office. When it turns out another town resident has taken possession of the package instead, Natwest’s journey of discovery truly begins.

It’s during his encounters with town residents that Natwest’s perspective begins to change. The pretentious and self-centered young man gives way to someone whose interior monologue sounds like this near the end: “Natwest had always imagined himself to be the main character. … He’d always thought he was leaving them (the town’s residents) behind, but it dawned on him now that it was more likely they were leaving him behind. He was but a minor character in their lives.”

Those lives are rich with pathos and humor. There’s a dentist in love with a trans woman who loves to paint, but only human mouths. There’s an imam who is at heart a cinephile. And a teenager having suicidal thoughts after the leak of nude pictures on the internet. Mix it all up with a secret surrounding Natwest’s own origin story, and you begin to see how it might be a better TV show than it is a book.

But don’t let that stop you from reading it. Fair warning: It is graphic in its description of sexual encounters and doesn’t shy away from difficult topics, including self harm. The humor helps take the edge off a little, but Newman certainly has something to say about the up-and-coming generation. This is a bold new voice, and one to watch.

AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews

Trending Reader Picks

Harris and Trump tied in 538's new polling average

• Aug 2, 10:28 AM

Airport conveyor belt cause of death revealed

• Aug 9, 8:42 PM

Trump immunity judgment is returned to lower court

• Aug 2, 2:59 PM

What 8 potential VP picks bring to the table

• Jul 25, 6:00 PM

Trump tells voters they won't 'have to vote again'

• Jul 27, 9:08 PM

ABC News Live

24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events

Nate Silver Gives Us Good Odds for a Bad Future

In “On the Edge,” the election forecaster argues that the gambler’s mind-set has come to define modern life.

Peter Thiel addresses a conference for the cryptocurrency Bitcoin in Miami Beach in 2022. Credit... Chandan Khanna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Supported by

• Share full article

Tim Wu is a law professor at Columbia University and the author, most recently, of “The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age.”

• Aug. 12, 2024
• Apple Books
• Barnes and Noble
• Books-A-Million
• Bookshop.org

When you purchase an independently reviewed book through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.

ON THE EDGE: The Art of Risking Everything , by Nate Silver

A common trope in dystopian fiction — “ The Hunger Games ,” “ Chain-Gang All-Stars ” — is the wealthy society that devotes itself to ever more exotic and expansive forms of gambling. Nate Silver, best known as a statistician and election modeler, makes the case that we are at least partway there.

We haven’t quite started taking bets on the survivors of a televised battle royale, but in his engaging and entertaining new book, “On the Edge,” Silver describes how the decision-making methods of the professional gambler have spread to encompass a wide swath of human activities, from cryptocurrency investment to the pursuit of a more ethical life. He offers readers an interview-driven tour of the parts of America where the outlooks and incomes depend on sophisticated forms of risk-taking. The result is a glimpse of the economy of the future.

Not all of these human calculators are the same. Silver and his subjects live along what he calls “the River.” Upstream are the economists and philosophers who do math and solve logic puzzles for lofty reasons like maximizing happiness. Float on a little ways and you will spot the Wall Street traders and stockbrokers. Keep going all the way down to the place where the River meets the shore and you’ll find yourself bobbing among the small-time crypto investors and card sharks. Now you’re really at sea.

No matter their vocation or chosen hobbies, citizens of the River are united in their point of view; to them, everything is a probability, a question of “expected value.” River people look everywhere for an “edge” — an insight into something hard to predict that will give them a profitable betting strategy over the long term. Might the markets be systematically underestimating the New York Mets or Robert F. Kennedy Jr.? Pick the right pony, and there could be a reliable path to wealth and glory.

“When I began working on this book, I knew I’d have conversations with poker players, venture capitalists and cryptocurrency enthusiasts,” Silver writes. “I didn’t think I’d spend a lot of time talking with philosophers.” But Silver found that a lot of the philosophers — and many of the artificial intelligence coders — he spoke to were associated with an intellectual movement related to gambling: effective altruism.

Like a gambler or an investment banker (or the 18th-century utilitarian Jeremy Bentham), effective altruists are focused on ethical calculations based on outcomes. If you’re comfortable allowing one man to die to save five or if you like worrying about whether we’re grossly underinvested in protecting Earth from asteroid collisions (low odds, but an enormous loss in value), you’re probably in the tribe. “Many poker players and many people in finance” don’t care about other people, the Oxford philosopher and leading light of effective altruism Will MacAskill tells Silver. “But some do.”

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

Advertisement

'Watchmen: Chapter 1' Review: DC’s Animated Adaptation Can’t Justify Its Existence

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

The Big Picture

• Watchmen: Chapter 1 is a faithful animated adaptation of the graphic novel, but falls short in capturing its dark tone.
• The animation style feels tonally off, resembling a Telltale Games' look, which detracts from the story's effectiveness.
• The film has a strong voice cast and some interesting visual moments, but the scattered narrative and lack of cohesion make this adaptation seem unnecessary.

For a comic book series that was once considered unadaptable, that certainly hasn’t stopped DC from trying to adapt and continue Watchmen in a myriad of ways. After Zack Snyder ’s Watchmen in 2009, it seems the floodgates for this series have opened to all sorts of possibilities. In the last 15 years, Watchmen has received a video game with Watchmen: The End Is Nigh , a prequel miniseries of comics in Before Watchmen , a sequel series of comics with Doomsday Clock , another series named after Rorschach , a Watchmen motion comic, and the most successful of these, HBO’s Watchmen series, which continued the story of the original graphic novel rather than adapt Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons ’ tale directly.

The latest attempt to keep the Watchmen brand alive in some form is Watchmen: Chapter 1 , the first installment of an animated adaptation of the original graphic novel. Directed by Brandon Vietti , who previously directed such DC Animation projects as Batman: Under the Red Hood and co-directed Superman: Doomsday , Watchmen: Chapter 1 brings this to the screen in a fairly faithful fashion. But with an animation style that feels tonally off for this narrative and an adaptation that doesn’t take any of its own chances, Watchmen: Chapter 1 doesn’t so much ask who watches the Watchmen, but rather, why you’d choose to watch this instead of just reading the original graphic novel?

Watchmen: Chapter 1 (2024)

Watchmen: Chapter I is a 2024 animated action thriller that begins with the murder of The Comedian, a government-sponsored superhero. This event prompts his former colleagues, who are now outlawed, to come out of retirement and investigate. Their quest leads them into a complex mystery that could threaten their personal lives and the world itself.

What Is 'Watchmen' About?

Set in an alternate version of the 1980s, Watchmen tells the story of a world where superheroes and supervillains exist and used to be prominent, but now, most are either retired or work for the government. When one such hero, The Comedian ( Rick D. Wasserman ), is found murdered, it seems as though someone is out to get rid of this old guard of heroes. One vigilante who never stopped, Rorschach ( Titus Welliver ) hits the streets to try and find answers, while trying to get the help of other former heroes, like his old partner Nite Owl ( Matthew Rhys ), the smartest man in the world, Ozymandias ( Troy Baker ), and a real-world Superman who transcends space and time, Dr. Manhattan ( Michael Cerveris ). As humanity seems to be heading towards war, Rorshach tries to solve a mystery that could help save the world.

Written by J. Michael Straczynski , the creator of Babylon 5 and co-creator of Sense8 , Watchmen: Chapter 1 sticks extremely close to the source material , even making the in-world graphic novel, Tales of the Black Freighter , part of the narrative. At least in this first part, Straczynski isn’t taking any major chances in this adaptation, and considering how strong Moore’s story is, this is a logical choice. Even Snyder’s adaptation did away with the Black Freighter elements to streamline the superhero story. For those who know the story of Watchmen , this retelling will make perfect sense, but again, it also seems almost unnecessary for those who already have read this tale. However, this currently fractured narrative, which is as of now only half-told, might be a bit too scattered for those unfamiliar. Naturally, Chapter 1 is fragments of a story building without a satisfying conclusion that it is heading towards. At barely 80 minutes, it seems strange to not just release it as one cohesive piece.

'Watchmen: Chapter 1's Animation Style Is an Odd Choice

Another unusual choice for Watchmen: Chapter 1 is its animation style. While stills of this chapter look fairly accurate to Gibbons’ original art, in motion, this looks more akin to the cel-shaded animation of Telltale Games like The Walking Dead , The Wolf Among Us , or Tales from the Borderlands . This shift in look is arguably the biggest alteration to this story, and yet, it just doesn’t feel right within this world. The decision to go with this style gives it a more cartoonish feel that often undercuts the darkness Watchmen needs to be effective.

However, this approach does have its strengths, even though it is mostly a weakness. For example, this style does work for Dr. Manhattan’s look, and particularly makes this character’s trip to Mars a fairly compelling scene, as he goes back through time, investigating his own history. Vietti’s direction also allows us to soak in this alternate 1980s aesthetic more than most other versions. There are many scenes where we watch our characters quietly walking the streets at night, and we can glean quite a bit from this show-don’t-tell approach. The city is still teeming with crime and questionable figures, while electric vehicles drive through the night—an example of Dr. Manhattan’s contributions to technology over the years. Chapter 1 occasionally takes its time to help give us a good idea of this world and the feeling that seeps into those who live within it.

But 'Watchmen: Chapter 1' Does Gather a Great Voice Cast

Watchmen: Chapter 1 also collects an impressive voice cast for its adaptation. Welliver’s vocal chords deserve a moment of silence, considering the gruff performance the actor is giving sounds like it must’ve been a strain, but it works here. Especially in Rorschach’s final scene, Welliver’s vocal performance shows this man's desperation and dedication to fighting crime by any means necessary. Rhys is also an inspired choice for Nite Owl/Dan Dreiberg, as he excels at balancing the boring mundanity of Dan with his heroic side. Baker and Wasserman both voice Ozymandias and Dr. Manhattan, respectively, with a similar lean, as though they’re both tired of being the smartest person in the room. Katee Sackhoff also is a smart choice for Laurie, showing her confusion and frustration in her relationship with Dr. Manhattan, as she tries to find her own identity away from this bond.

Yet despite its brilliant voice cast and quieter moments that allow us to breathe in this unique version of New York City, Watchmen: Chapter 1 struggles to justify its existence . Its awkward animation choice doesn’t mesh with this concept as well as it should, and loses some of the spirit Moore and Gibbons gave with their original graphic novel. It’s a style that will feel off for those who already love this world, and for those uninitiated, the scattered structure won’t leave much of an impact without Chapter 2 to show where this story is headed. Moore has always been bullish against adaptations of his work, and while that’s come off as close-minded in some cases—particularly with the HBO series—it sort of makes sense with this version. Watchmen: Chapter 1 is a compelling curiosity, but never matches the power of its source material, and, if anything, should make people turn to the graphic novel instead of checking out yet another adaptation.

Watchmen: Chapter 1 is an intriguing idea with a strong voice cast, but rarely matches the tone or spirit of the original story.

• Watchmen: Chapter 1's voice cast, especially Titus Welliver and Matthew Rhys, provides smart takes on these characters.
• The quieter moments allow us to soak in this alternate history more than most other adaptations.
• The animation style feels wrong for this narrative, deviating from Dave Gibbons' art style.
• Splitting this story into two chapters will likely be all setup and no payoff for those new to this world.

Watchmen: Chapter 1 will be available to stream on VOD in the U.S. starting August 13.

WATCH ON VOD

• Movie Reviews