I remember the first time I read “Untamed”, I was on the flight back from New York to Cairo and hadn’t slept in more than 24 hours. My usual routine of falling asleep the second my head hit the headrest was forsaken in favour of devouring the book I had just procured. At this point I had already been a big fan of Glennon Doyle having discovered her in an episode of Oprah’s SuperSoul Sunday and consequently followed her on Instagram for a few months. Her motto “we can do hard things” was ingrained in my brain and would have made it to my potential tatoo list if I was so inclined.

Now that I am rereading Untamed, I recognize all the minutiae I had missed the first time. The repetitiveness, the somewhat preachy tone. The endless droning on that happens when one is trying to start a thought revolution. I marvel at how different my first reading had been and wonder if it’s worth passing on to my tribe.

Untamed is the story about a woman who leaves her conventional family and falls in love with a somewhat unexpected person. In Untamed we get to hear Glennon’s story about how she uprooted her life and her belief system for love. The book is divided into short essays, with each essay circling around a particular topic, mostly in the theme of female empowerment. My favourite anecdote involves the different messaging that girls and boys are given via shampoo bottles in the bathroom.

Doyle is a sensitive writer who notices everything and attempts to pass on her own learning as they are happening. By examining her life, she examines all of our lives with the point being society’s taming of women throughout time. A book that is dedicated to her daughter, we are thrust headfirst in Glennon’s family life, taking a first-class seat to her divorce, her enamoration with Abby and her ‘rising’. More so than anything we learn how Glennon learns strength and speaking up for what she wants.

This book is geared towards women in their 30s-40s, but really addresses all women who grow up in a patriarchal society. My favourite thing about the book is not its theme, which I do think is essential, but the plastering of little faith-centered stories in between the more profound personal revolutions. Glennon’s belief in a higher power and in her Knowing are what make the book worth it for me. I have spent many a moment shut up in my closet trying to replicate what I have learned about finding my inner Truth (when you know, you know).

I hope this book helps you find your Truth and invites you to ask yourself “what is the truest most beautiful version of yourself you can imagine?” Read in bite sized pieces, not all at once.

I give this book 3.5/5 stars.