Untamed By Glennon Doyle Review

I just finished reading Untamed By Glennon Doyle and I am so excited to share my thoughts with you, about this book. It was truly a mind opening read for me.

When the book was first released and became a phenomenon, I did a little research on the book. I Googled things like “Christian review of Untamed”. The reviews I found from this very narrow search warned me, as a Christian, to stay away from the book. So I stayed away but I was still so curious. A few months ago a friend shared a blurb from the book on her social feed and it got me thinking again. The blurb she shared really resonated with me.

I also knew that I could not be part of an actual conversation about the content of the book, if I didn’t read it myself and so I picked up a copy from our local book store The Bookkeeper. I want to be clear too, my hesitation with reading the book, came from what I had read about Glennon’s quoting of the Bible and the way she referenced God. After reading the book I feel like I was very close minded in many ways. I feel an awakening within myself for the next chapter of my life and faith journey and I feel very convicted to pray and work on the way I love others.

Glennon talks about so many important topics in this book so I think I will share some of my thoughts and takeaways based on topics. Lets start with motherhood:

Motherhood

“Mothers have martyred themselves in their children’s names since the beginning of time. We have lived as if she who disappears the most, loves the most. We have been conditioned to prove our love by slowly ceasing to exist.

What a terrible burden for children to bear—to know that they are the reason their mother stopped living. What a terrible burden for our daughters to bear—to know that if they choose to become mothers, this will be their fate, too. Because if we show them that being a martyr is the highest form of love, that is what they will become. They will feel obligated to love as well as their mothers loved, after all. They will believe they have permission to live only as fully as their mothers allowed themselves to live.”

Mom guilt has become a common phrase and from my perspective, in some conversations the mom who feels the most guilty must be the best mom. What if I do not feel guilty for taking time for something like working out 30 mins a day? What if I joined the conversation and said that it simply makes me happier when I take time to care for myself and it gives me more energy for my motherhood work. This statement resonated with me because I want to teach all of my children to live full purposeful lives but I cant do that by shrinking back, I need to live a full life to show them how to live their own.

Empathy

“What if we let ourselves feel it all? What if we decided that it is strength-not weakness-to let other peoples pain pierce us?”

Right now, if I am effected by another persons pain, I allow it to bring me to my knees in prayer. Sometimes that prayer is as simple as “Why God? this is not fair?”. In her book, Glennon shared how she allowed the pain to move her into action. I have allowed my pain to create action in my life. I believe the next step for my life, is taking action for those effected by injustices but maybe cant take action on their own. I felt convicted while reading this section of the book ,to do more for our world.

Being Yourself

“Anything or anyone I could lose by telling the truth was never mine anyway. I'm willing to lose anything that requires me to hide any part of myself.”

I have been on a journey the last six years of truly stepping into who God designed me to be. I am getting more comfortable letting go of things and people who dont accept me for who I am. Its a process but it is freeing and powerful to simply be yourself. I really resonated with the above statement, why would I want anything that does not allow me to be truly who I am?!

Racism & Minority

Close to 90% of white Americans approve of Dr. King today. Yet while he was a live and demanding change only about 30% approved of him.”

This made me think about how I live my life today and what actions I am willing to take to stand up for what I believe to be right. I am still pondering this………..

Revelation

Revelation must come before revolution.”

I loved this because I have lived it over and over again and continue to have new revelations that lead to revolutionary change in my life. This journey often requires me to be honest with myself about areas I have failed and that require improvement. That revelation of short comings often leads to work that will cause revolution.

Faith

“Idon’t know if I call myself a Christian anymore. That label suggests certainty, and I have none. It suggests the desire to convert others, and that’s the last thing I want to do. It suggests exclusive belonging, and I’m not sure I belong anywhere anymore. Part of me wants to peel that label off, set it down, and try to meet each person soul to soul, without any layers between us. But I find myself unable to let go fully, because to wash my hands of the Jesus story is to abandon something beautiful to money-hungry hijackers. It would be like surrendering the concept of beauty to the fashion industry or the magic of sexuality to internet porn dealers. I want beauty, I want sex, I want faith. I just don’t want the hijackers’ commodified, poisonous versions. Nor do I want to identify myself with hijackers. So I will say this: I remain compelled by the Jesus story. Not as history meant to reveal what happened long ago, but as poetry meant to illuminate a revolutionary idea powerful enough to heal and free humanity now.”

This piece is a big one for me. The Christian reviews I consumed about this book almost stopped me from reading it. Which proves Glennon’s point here - “exclusive belonging”. From what I have gathered about Jesus from the Bible, he was the most inclusive man that has ever walked the earth, a person of limitless love.

Galatians 5 - 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The fruit of the spirit is love and against such things there is no law. I thought I would read this book and find fault in its pages about what was shared about God but instead I was humbled by the way I have lived out my faith and challenged to love more broad, to live my faith without the laws that have been woven into the fabric of our society and churches. I try to put my faith and God in a box, a tidy package or checklist that help me to feel comfortable and like I am on the right spiritual path. Time and time again, God shows me that my true untamed path, the one He designed uniquely for me to walk alongside Him, can not fit in any one box.

In the end this book expanded my mind in many ways, challenged me to love and act in love more like Jesus and also critically look at the messaging our society is feeding me each day, so that I too can live untamed.

xoxo

Heather