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Writer's pictureThe Bossy Bookworm

Review of Untamed by Glennon Doyle

I love Glennon's heart and her honesty, but many of these essays ended too soon for me.

Doyle, the bestselling author of Carry On, Warrior and Love Warrior, writes about her life's ups and downs again in her newest book. In Untamed, she shares lessons she's learned through being true to herself, loving herself and caring for others, bringing up her children, examining her religious faith, and finding love.


In often very short essays, she explores living genuinely despite others' criticisms; giving herself permission to take up space in the world and speak up; feeling and expressing a full gamut of emotions rather than keeping the peace; rejecting the myth of ideal mothers being martyrs; and generally relying on her inner voice to guide her through an honest, genuine, and fulfilling life.


I found that I missed a more narrative arc here--I would have loved spending more page time in her daily family and work life and seeing time pass in both respects. This might have served as a unifying framework for her thoughts and her exhortations to the reader. Many essays ended too soon for me; I often wanted her to take things a step further to share implications or conclusions, or to explore topics more deeply.


I love Glennon's heart and her honesty about her limitations and what she's working on in herself. She's often funny, especially when she's letting us into the small moments of her life. I enjoyed hearing more about her unexpected love story with Abby Wambach, and I admire how she strives to make the world a better place, both generally and also through her wide-reaching nonprofit Together Rising.

Any Bossy thoughts on this book?

Have you read this one? What about her earlier books?


I admit to wanting Doyle to dig further in some of these essays, but I do love how much heart she has.


I mentioned this book (along with With or Without You and City of Girls) in Three Books I'm Reading Now, 1/6/21 Edition.

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