Untamed by Glennon Doyle

 This is the latest book from a popular blogger and best selling author about finding power within yourself to make your life awesome. The author became a bulimic and alcoholic as a teen but was able to overcome her addictions when she found out she was pregnant.  She married and expanded her family and seemed to be living the American dream until her husband confessed he was cheating on her. She tried to hang on to her marriage for the sake of her children, but then fell in love with a female soccer player. Her marriage ended and she established a new life with her new love, Abby, but still sharing parenting responsibilities with her ex-husband. This book chronicles the emotional process she went through to accept herself and her new life. She also gives advice and encouragement to other women to throw off the confines of the modern misogynistic society and societal institutions, like organized religion, and seek self gratification above all else. 

This book was very popular when it was released in 2020. It is a collection of short anecdotes and reflections on life. Doyle writes honestly and passionately, and is willing to show her own vulnerabilities and weakness. I agreed with some of the things she said, but a lot of it went very counter to my view of life. As I read I kept thinking to myself, I wonder what kind of book she will be writing in five years. Will her new life style and philosophy still hold of will something else have happened to make her do another drastic turn around in her beliefs? The philosophy she advocates sounds really appealing and even seductive and I can see how a lot of women could feel temporarily gratified by the kind of life style this book advocates, but is what she saying really true? I don't think so.  I don't agree with about 70% of the ideas she promotes and about 10% even offensive to me.  It was hard to keep reading the book for that reason, but I decided it was a good exercise of trying to see another's point of view. It did give me some new perspectives and caused me to do some introspection. I don't think, however, I will be recommending it to anyone else. (352 p. 2020)