By: Glennon Doyle
Type: Essays, Non-Fiction, Self-help
My Rating: 5 Stars
This book is a gamechanger! It is a series of short pieces by Doyle who speaks of her life, her losses and her challenges and a life changing decision to stop following the norms and embrace what makes her sing. It is a call to women (and men) to stop doing what we are told and start doing whatever makes our hearts full. Its not the same for you as it is for me. Through her addiction and her divorce from the father of her children, to her sobriety and her marriage to the woman who made whole- Doyle strips herself bare for her readers with words of uplifting wisdom. I dare anyone who picks up this book to not find something amazing.
Since there is no true “story” her to offer a synopsis of, I want to share my favorite quotes.
The building of the true and beautiful means the destruction of the good enough. Rebirth means death. Once a truer, more beautiful vision is born inside us, life is in the direction of that vision. Holding on to what is no longer true enough is not safe; it’s the riskiest move because it is the certain death of everything that was meant to be. We are alive only to the degree to which we are willing to be annihilated. Our next life will always cost us this one. If we are truly alive, we are constantly losing who we just were, what we just built, what we just believed, what we just knew to be true. Page 74
In America, we are so new. We still fancy ourselves conquerors and renegades. We’re all still trying to be the “firsts” to do this or that. Can you imagine? We are all competing for our parents’ attention, and we have no parent. It makes us a little jumpy. Paris is not jumpy. Peris is calm and certain. It’s not going to startle easily, and it already knows the words to all the songs. Everywhere I looked in Paris, I found proof that leaders come and go, buildings are built and fall, revolutions begin and end; nothing -no matter how grand- lasts. Paris says” We are here for such a short time. We might as well sit down for along while with some good coffee, company, and bread. Here, there is more time to be human, maybe because there has been more time to learn how. Pages 95-96
What is better: uncomfortable truth or comfortable lies? Every truth is a kindness, even if it makes others uncomfortable. Every untruth is an unkindness, even if it makes others comfortable. Page 112
I used to lie to Tish all the time. I used to proBack when I thought I should make Tish’s life easy instead of allowing her to learn that she can handle life’s hard. Back when I thought there was more magic in what was pretend than what was real. Back when I believed a mother was supposed to be her daughter’s hero instead of alloing her daughter to become her own hero. Page 141
Any my most favorite of all is from her essay “memos”
Let it speak when spoken to. Carry on with your lives. My mother’s memo: Here is your baby. Take her home and then get together each day with your friends who also have these things Drink Tab before four o’clock and wine coolers after. Smoke cigarettes and play cars. Lock the kids out of the house and let them in only to eat and sleep. Lucky bastards.
Our memo: Here is your baby. This is the moment you have been waiting for your entire life: when the hole in your heart is filled and you finally become complete. If, after I put this child in your arms, you sense anything other than utter fulfillment, seek counseling immediately. After you hang up with the counselor, call a tutor. Since we have been speaking for three minutes, your child is already behind. Have you registered her for Mandarin classes yet? I see. Poor child. Listen closely: Parent is no longer a noun- those days are done. Parent is now a verb, something you do ceaselessly. Think of the verb parent as synonymous with protect, shield, hover deflect, fix, plan, and obsess. Parenting will require all of you; please parent with your mind, body, and soul. Parenting is your new religion, within which you will find salvation. This child is your savior. Convert or be damned. We will wait while you cancel all other life endeavors. Thank you……We got a terrible memo. Pages 154-155
These are just a few of the reasons that I loved this book. You may not agree with all of Doyle’s positions, but they are insightful and hilarious and so motivational. It’s just the kind of book we all need right now. This is a perfect gift for someone who you know loves to read, but you’re never sure what to get them. It’s a pick it up, put it down kind of book – perfect for the moms in your life or women who are busy and don’t have time to get lost in novel but can grab a chapter here or there and make their day that much better for having read it. Please get your copy by selecting the link below you won’t regret the decision. And a quick shout out for that cover art by Leslie David! It’s so beautiful, who cares if your friend even reads it. It’ll brighten their nightstand!
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