How Glennon Doyle’s Untamed united readers globally during a worldwide pandemic
Written by Zara Hacker
Glennon Doyle’s Untamed is more than just a literary phenomenon that flew onto people’s bookshelves amidst the global pandemic that was Covid 19; it provided helping a hand to guide navigate readers through the journey that is, as Glennon would so brilliantly put it, becoming ‘wild’.
“The epitome of womanhood is to lose one’s self completely. Because a very effective way to control women is to convince women to control themselves.”
While it is evident that Doyle could have never predicted the global crisis that lay ahead of her publication, she did spark a united global hope upon her release of Untamed in 2019. Furthermore, Glennon navigated readers through the class that was embracing the unknown, what it means to be a woman in a man’s world and the importance of being able to embrace the unknown rather than fear it. In other words, Doyle was our lockdown teacher and we were her doting students.
Image Credit: Glennon Doyle via untamedbook
“Blessed are those brave enough to make things awkward, for they wake us up and move us forward.”
Untamed reads almost as a love letter to your future self, assuring you that there is always light at the end of the tunnel, even if your car broke down a quater of a mile into it and you had to walk another fifty miles to the end of it… light is always at the end of the tunnel.
“I will not stay, not ever again – in a room or conversation or relationship or institution that requires me to abandon myself.”
Similarly, Doyle also opened up the conversation about two of the much-needed activities during lockdown, self-care and self-love. She expresses the vital importance of letting go of the old to embrace the new and reinforcing the notion that staying in a situation that no longer fulfils you for the sake of other people’s opinions isn’t viable. How can you care for others when you’re barely caring for yourself?
“Tish is sensitive, and that is her superpower. The opposite of sensitive is not brave. It’s not brave to refuse to pay attention, to refuse to notice, to refuse to feel and know and imagine. The opposite of sensitive is insensitive, and that’s no badge of honour.”
Image Credit Glennon Doyle via untamedbooks
Untamed also sparked the activity of finding perfections with your imperfections during lockdown. Additionally, when writing about her daughters’ sensitivity, she referred reinforced the notion of finding the perfections within the imperfections and even going as far as alternatively using the term “superpower”.
“The truest, most beautiful life never promises to be an easy one. We need to let go of the lie that it’s supposed to be.”
I think that final quote from Untamed speaks for itself really, there is hope if you choose to look for it but it might not always be staring you in the face. Finally, that is exactly what Doyle did during one of the world’s largest challenges, she provided hope for those sat at home amidst the fear of the unknown.
If you’d like to purchase the book for yourself, you can find it at Glennon Doyle’s website as well as most booksellers. You can also find her social media pages following the links;
Edited by Felix Dommett and Oscar Jones