The Gospel...according to Glennon

Glennon Doyle. My saviour. My prophet. My deity.

Okay, maybe those terms are a little heavy-handed, but I cannot emphasize enough how Glennon's book Untamed reached me. "This is ME!", I thought repeatedly with every page I turned. "This is MY experience!". I was so overcome by the familiarity

of what I was reading that at times I was overcome by tears. Passages from Untamed became like scripture for me. And, that's saying a lot considering I'm an atheist. Glennon became the light that guided me.

Like me, she was in a satisfactory relationship. Okay, her husband had cheated on her. He was remorseful, wanted to work things out, and was a good father. She and he went to couples counselling for a long time. But, like me (like so many others), her marriage didn't seem to suit her. Being a feminist, she considered so many of the ways women abandon their base instincts and their needs in order to make things comfortable for all around them. She advocates for women finding their voices and becoming more selfish (i.e. more focussed on what they want, and going for it). In doing so, she expects that women will be able to be role models for and empower the people in their lives.

And there it was. The initial incredulity of having permission to think of oneself made way for some enlightening realizations:

It's okay to be selfish?!

It's okay to want?!

It's okay to go out and grab life?!

It's okay to live your best life, even if it means upending the lives of others?!

It's okay if "good enough" isn't really good enough?!

This tapped into my inner core because for much of my marriage the refrain of "*sigh* We only have one life" kept repeating in my head and heart, as a warning. Sure, we all want to appreciate what we have, but maybe we should consider forsaking what is comfortable for what could be full, rich, and beautiful. Glennon has given me permission to do this, to explore what living a more true life for myself could mean.

Untamed. Read it.