The funny thing about recommending Untamed is that I wasn’t too sure when I first heard of it. To be honest, I never read Love Warrior or really got into the Glennon Doyle following. No specific reason, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea reading-wise and never heard anything that gripped me, so I was super surprised to get this recommendation. One of my old San Diego Moms Co friends, Elisabeth had recommended it.

I looked it up, and clearly was taken by the cover (as stupid as that sounds, but that bright art!)…well, I read the summary and it clicked. I got why she was recommending this and it sounded about right. As you know by now, I’m raising one LGBTQIA+ youth and my child has strong passionate feelings and emotions. And my goal as their mom was to never hold them back. This book gives strength to my parenting actions and decisions. It is definitely a should read.

At the moment she had recommended it though, we were in full-on unknown quarantine life. Budgets are budgets, so I added to my Amazon list for later thoughts. Then she stepped up on that recommendation and was not only was recommending it to me but was so passionate that I HAD TO read/hear this book that she sent me it… And now, here I am recommending this book to you!

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

And, YES! I REALLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

This book is really written for any woman, any mom, any LGBTQIA+ person/parent/family member/ally. And is written for all those with a socially conscious spirit.

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The number one takeaway from Untamed, this whole book of her life in essays, was living unapologetically and authentically yourself!

Raising our kids to be themselves. Not having to shrink themselves to fit in molds. For our kids to watch us set an example, them seeing us fighting the good fight and not waiting for our Princes to come. Not having to pretend and discount feelings to make the world around us comfortable.

The book goes right into these thoughts of empowerment and you get that throughout. These are just the right kind of thoughts we all need to hear more. Self-doubt isn’t new to any of us, so it’s refreshing to hear her speak of it and her revelations. I find that she gave my inner monologue strength.

Doyle admits to not being perfect and it’s refreshing to hear her vulnerable openness, as well as her strong core beliefs and strength in fighting for what she knows is right.

She speaks out from her perspective of her life and battles as she had shifted from a straight “heteronormative” white woman life to this new blended family with her wife, Abby. (She does even a further breakdown of her perspectives on her IG and I also recommend following there after you finish the book, if you aren’t already, especially if you aren’t getting her narrative on the “Born this Way” bit.) Doyle even shares about her non-profit work and how she thinks it out, which is pretty grassroots fantastic, like I even said local is best.

Doyle addresses everything from raising a “sensitive” child (something which my friend, Elisabeth, and myself were definitely chatting about), team sports, gender norms, and expectations. To even current social climate issues like BLM, battles with the church, and metal health. She doesn’t shy away from discussing her battle with alcoholism. Even her need to be on prescription medication.

No topic seemed to be off the table. It was relatable! Relatable from all angles.

There was even a moment in addressing her previous marriage and cheating, that caught me by surprise. This actually had been one of those smack me across the face moments. For those that don’t know, I was once “the wife in therapy with the cheating husband,” so picturing a therapist saying this to me, just shook me, ‘have you tried blow jobs, they‘re less intimate.’ Just floored! But, sadly, I could see it!

It’s just that spirit of where we are here to please everybody but ourselves. And, why?! Why when we can do so much greater good being ourselves and fighting for what we believe in. Doing right by not only our kids but ourselves?

Like Doyle said, and I said above, she isn’t perfect. She doesn’t claim to be. And I am not saying I agreed 100% with everything she says, but it was worth the read. It’s food for thought and it gave a lot of strength to ideas I already had. It’s another view of this crazy lifetime we are living in and it’s another mother/wife/sister/daughter…PERSON doing their best and it’s fantastic to hear.

Do yourself a favor and find Untamed by Glennon Doyle, whether it be a book, Kindle version, or audio form. You won’t regret it!