“Untamed” Book Review

Rating: 4/5 Stars

“Untamed” is the new memoir by Glennon Doyle released on March 10th 2020. The format of this autobiography is a collection of short anecdotes with one similar theme, how to be one’s true and authentic self.

The book contains strong attitudes of feminism, self love and individuality. At times, I found her opinions to be a bit extreme but it did not stop me from enjoying the memoir. A lot of feminists come across as men-haters, but Glennon Doyle doesn’t. She simply puts forth her story and talks about her quest to be true to herself. She dabbles in several different thematic areas including gender inequity, racism, divorce and parenting struggles. However, she relates all of these items back to her journey to become her authentic self which assists the book with flowing effortlessly.

Due to the format of the book, I found a few chapters that were particularly interesting to me. The prologue was well done and I’m sure strategically positioned. Her “Cheetah” story had me up in arms at the beginning of the book, ready to announce to the world that “I am a Goddamn Cheetah.” I also found the following sections particularly moving: Blow Jobs, Cream Cheeses, Elmer’s, Braids and Sidelines. Yes… all of those are the names of individual chapters found in the book.

I respect the fact that she included moments from her life where she stumbled as well as those moments where she did well. It may have been easier to write a memoir focusing more on the successes or solely on the failures. However, the combination that she strikes rings true and allows the reader to be fully immersed in her individual experience.

This book fits neatly into the self-help feminism market, but what I liked about it is that it also was more than just a bland book about empowering women. This book was about people taking ownership of their path and being cognizant of their choices. With that being said, this book is sure to win the hearts of many and to be another best seller for Doyle.

Recommendations:

1. Get the audiobook version to hear Glennon Doyle narrate it!
2. If you’re a romantic this book has a strong hint of romance. It discussed Doyle’s relationship with soccer star, Abby Wambach.
3. Take your time to mark chapters as you go through, highlight, bookmark etc. Doyle has a few gems in this memoir that shouldn’t go unnoticed!
4. Still on the fence about this book? At minimum, go read the prologue and know that “You are a Cheetah.”

Happy Reading!