A few weeks ago, a friend and I were zipping texts back and forth, analyzing the pain points in our lives that have forced us to adapt in some way. And then, there it was: a thought. Growth and grief are interconnected. For the most part, you cannot grow without letting go of something, which involves grief. And grief often results in growth as well.
Both of these “gr” words move us forward in our life journeys. Most of the time, it is painful.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not a huge fan of pain. And, I’m very likely to grumble and growl about it rather than to cheerfully grieve or grow.
The times I’ve spent grieving over something have been some of my most fruitful times of writing, processing, crying, and growing. On the flip side, every season of growth has been accompanied by the shadow of grief as the growth has moved me away from old things into new things. And that’s involved crying too.
As Glennon Doyle summed it up so well in her book, Untamed, life is brutiful — it’s both brutal and beautiful. And that blend is intoxicating.
Book Review: Untamed by Glennon Doyle
On a scale of cotton candy to Brussels sprouts, Untamed by Glennon Doyle is cookie dough truffle. Crunch through the exterior layer of chocolate to an ooey-gooey center of a chocolate chip cookie dough. Whether you savor or rush through, each bite is eye-popping deliciousness, made with love.
With every page, Untamed asks the question: what would it be like to trust yourself? Glennon Doyle unfurls her life lessons across the pages of this book with honesty and feeling, both encouraging and challenging readers to explore the discomfort, triggers, and addictions in their own lives. Her book back cover copy says it so well, “Glennon decided to quit abandoning herself and to instead abandon the world’s expectations of her. She quit being good so she could be free. She quit pleasing and started living.”
Untamed feels like a book for these times, at least to me. A friend sent me a quote from the pages of the book, and it resonated so deeply that I found myself doing something I rarely do — immediately purchasing the book for Kindle because I had to read it NOW. Friends, I have more highlights in this book than all my books collected together. Glennon Doyle asks what would happen if we allowed ourselves to feel the pain in the world, and she asks what would happen if we stopped living our lives by other’s expectations. It’s both painful and freeing. As I neared the end, I found myself dragging my feet, not wanting to be done. I read one chapter at a time, savoring the new perspectives, the honesty, the call to live my life my way unapologetically. And for the first time, in a long time, I felt hope.
If you’re asking for more, if you’re questioning the world around you, if you’re deconstructing your religious views, Untamed is for you.
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