Monthly Book Reviews

Review 11/11/2020:

I haven’t been able to read much for pleasure since I was much younger, but Untamed has been one of my favorite books so far. It is an easy and enjoyable read, which short “chapters” (some even just a couple of pages!) and Glennon’s style is fun and honest.

A couple of my biggest takeaways so far:

1. She explains that, based on research she has read, we start conforming when we are just 10 years old. At that young age, we start to do, say, and think what we think others want us to do, say, and think or what we see others do, say, and think. In my opinion, it is a sad, but so very important, note that home environments, social environments, and exposure to media are vitally important to our development.

2. On a related note, she later talks about how girls tend to “look to each other” to determine their wants and needs, instead of looking to themselves. When we learn to look to ourselves and to trust ourselves, we can feel more whole and happy.

   This also made me think about the connection between this and people-pleasing tendencies. If we are much more inclined to take into consideration the wants and needs of others, and the impact of our presence on others, our own wants and needs would seem to get lost in that process.

   What are some of your true wants and needs in life?

Review 1/7/2021:

If you’ve ever had trouble being true to yourself and or listening to your inner voice (aka your “Knowing”), then this book is definitely for you.

I love how honest Glennon is about being human. Humans make mistakes, feel uncomfortable feelings, and do hard things. If you’re not doing those things, you may not be living fully and you are likely not being true to yourself.

And that’s not your fault. Culture and society shames us into not being ourselves and teaches us that who we truly are is “wrong,” “weird,” or “not good enough.”

That’s all major B.S. And this book does a great job of explaining why.

I appreciated a lot of this book, but I was especially appreciative of the inclusion of a section on how boys are stifled, as well. Most of the book is about how girls/women are (because the author is a woman), but I appreciated the acknowledgement that this is not an issue exclusive to females. Men face this same shame and pressure to be, act, and do life a certain way, which is not fair and I hope to share this with the men in my life in a way that allows them to be who they truly are - and not what society wants them to be.

I will recommend this to many clients who can benefit from this read, and I will probably read it again in the future. I liked it that much!