I don’t remember when or why I added this book to my list. When I read the summary, it felt like something I should read, more than something I wanted to read.
Untamed is a memoir focusing on the end of Glennon Doyle’s marriage as she meets and falls in love with a woman, and an examination of how she learned to free herself from society’s expectations for women and mothers.
I mostly enjoyed this book. Certain parts really didn’t resonate with my own experiences, but that didn’t bother me. I struggled to understand the format a little–it’s sort of like a series of short blogs. Sometimes I had trouble finding the thread connecting all the chapters and various topics. Ostensibly, I think the theme of each chapter is either about being “caged” or being “untamed” but sometimes this felt like kind of a reach. There were some really valuable parts to this book, and some sentiments that hit home with me, particularly when she discusses the death of her grandmother and when she talks about resolving conflicts with her wife. For that reason, I’m glad I read it.
On the other hand, at times I found Doyle’s writing style to be kind of annoying. What is the writing convention where you don’t use any contractions? I hate when authors do that, particularly in a book like this which is otherwise written in such a conversational tone. There were also quite a few parts that felt tone deaf or even self-righteous.
This review is more negative than I meant it to be–I’m glad I read this book. I’m just finding it hard to review.
