FOLLOW THE READER
Meet 2020’s self-help siren, a Christian lesbian whose book will make your ‘soul scream’
Adele’s outer transformation has shocked fans worldwide. But it’s her mind makeover that’s really making waves.
“This book will shake your brain and make your soul scream,” Adele, 32, gushed of “Untamed,” a new memoir by Glennon Doyle, in a lengthy Instagram post published Friday. “I am so ready for myself after reading this book! It’s as if I just flew into my body for the very first time.”
The woman behind Adele’s radical self-revolution, Doyle, 44, is a mommy-blogger-turnedmessiah who has successfully amassed a cult following of empowered women from A-listers to average Janes.
“She saves lives, honestly. I really believe that,” said superfan Naomi Kay, who credits Doyle for helping her stay sober. “‘Untamed’ is my go-to. I have it on my nightstand permanently.”
Doyle’s appeal lies largely in her unflinching honesty about her slew of personal struggles — from alcoholism and drug addiction to eating disorders and navigating a broken marriage. Her third and latest memoir, “Untamed,” published in March via Dial Press, reveals her coming-out journey and love story with former pro soccer player and Olympic gold medalist, Abby Wambach, who she married in 2017, a year after leaving her husband.
“Untamed” has spent 22 weeks on the New York Times best seller list and seven weeks at No. 1. Celebrities, such as Jennifer Aniston, Kristen Bell and Oprah Winfrey, all raved about the tome, while Reese Witherspoon picked it for her book club in May, noting it’s
“packed with incredible insight about what it means to be a woman today.” The dust jacket itself is a social-media sensation, with its swirling paints and sparkles making for colorful Insta catnip.
The author began publicly chronicling her personal troubles in 2009, when she launched a parenting blog, Momastery, while still married to Craig Melton, a former model with whom she has three children. Through it, she gained a dedicated audience that led to her first book “Carry on, Warrior,” published in 2013. It became a national best seller.
She has since written two more memoirs — and embarked on a speaking tour called “Together Live,” where she met Wambach and fell in love. Still, Doyle is a devout Christian, and the relationship caused a backlash among fans. Doyle, for one, didn’t see the disconnect. “Sexuality, a lot like faith, is a very powerful, mysterious, gorgeous, life-changing energy that is beyond our control or our understanding,” she said at a talk last year.
Doyle devotees love and respect that the author is outspoken about suffering, calling for women to confront their emotions and challenge societal pressures to be selfless and “good.” She also preaches resilience.
“We can do hard things” is Doyle’s admitted “hourly life mantra,” she wrote on her Web site. “It is my affirmation that living life on life’s own absurd terms is hard.”
“She writes about being brave enough and good enough, most importantly, to reach for the life you are supposed to have,” said Kay, 33, a London-based personal assistant who has been sober since December 2018. “If I stay sober and I do the work on myself, I get the life I was supposed to have. Glennon reminds me of that.”
She was so moved by Doyle’s writing that she, on two occasions, bought copies to leave on the subway for strangers to find.
“I figure someone will pick it up who needs it,” Kay said, adding that she gifted “Untamed” to “everyone I know in recovery.”
Hailey Magee came across the writer a few years ago when she picked up Doyle’s second book, “Love Warrior,” which came out in 2016.
“I grabbed a copy, sat down in the aisle of the bookstore, and devoured the whole thing in one sitting. True story,” said Magee, 27. “I was facing an extremely difficult moment in my romantic relationship, and Glennon’s account of her own relationship strife — and the strength she demonstrated throughout — made me feel less alone.”
Doyle’s history of alcohol abuse and eating disorders also struck a chord with Magee, of Seattle.
“Those were all part of my story, too,” said Magee, who now works as a co-dependency recovery coach. But “she made me realize I didn’t have to be ashamed of my past in order to heal.”
“Untamed,” which has sold over 1 million copies, is now in talks to be made into a TV show, and Doyle has since launched a nonprofit called Together Rising, which supports women and families who need help.
But for her die-hard fans, no amount of fame, fortune or success will change how they feel about Doyle.
“As readers, we don’t feel like we’re reading the testimony of a healed, enlightened being,” said Magee. “We feel like we’re reading the diary of a dear friend.”