Today, we are going to take a look at some of the best Glennon Doyle book recommendations.
Glennon Doyle is the New York Times bestseller author of Untamed. She has authored two other books, Love Warrior, and Carry On, Warrior, as well as creator of the online community Momastery. She is an activist for women, families, and children in crisis.
It is very apparent that Glennon Doyle is a huge reader. Here is what she said about her relationship with reading:
“For me, life itself is a challenging time requiring extra comfort. While many folks seem to find that comfort in other humans, that doesn’t always work for me. I am a deeply sensitive, raging introvert which means that I am wildly in love with humanity, but actual humans are tricky for me. Thank God, when I was five years old, I discovered books. Books were, and still are, the way I learn about myself and other people without having to deal with other people.”
Glennon Doyle really seems to love books about incredible, creative, and strong people, especially women. Most of the Glennon Doyle book recommendations highlight these people and bring them to light for us all to share their experience.
Glennon Doyle Book Recommendation List
This is the full list of the best Glennon Doyle book recommendations:
- Know My Name by Chanel Miller
- To Love and Let Go by Rachel Brathen
- You Deserve the Truth by Erica Williams Simon
- The Purpose of Power by Alicia Garza
- Conversations with People Who Hate Me by Dylan Marron
- The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
- Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Know My Name was written by Chanel Miller. This book was published in 2019, and has 384 pages. The book was extremely popular due to the nature of the subject, the high profile People v. Turner court case.
“I sat down to read Know My Name as an act of solidarity; with the intention of bearing witness to the story of a survivor. Instead, I found myself falling into the hands of one of the great writers and thinkers of our time. Chanel Miller is brilliant. She is a philosopher, a cultural critic, a deep observer, a writer’s writer, a true artist. If we are very lucky, this phenomenal book will be just the first of many world-changing pieces of art this woman offers the world.”
Know My Name follows Chanel Miller, known as Emily Doe during the trial, and her trauma before, during, and after the People v. Turner case. This includes the event, the trial, and how she coped afterward.
A little background.
Brock Turner was found guilty of sexually assaulting Chanel Miller on the campus of Stanford. He was sentenced to six months in county jail; a sentence that many would consider extremely light.
Chanel Miller came out as Emily Doe in a letter that was seen by millions, read on the floor of Congress, and had a huge impact on the change of law in California. The letter encouraged others to speak out against their own assaults.
Now Chanel Miller is telling us her side of the story. The side where victims are oppressed despite overwhelming evidence, and how they are treated during the aftermath. She shows us how the justice system is stacked against the vulnerable, and protects the perpetrators.
Chanel Miller is an amazing writer. Her pain, resilience, and humor bring to life a memoir that will stand the test of time for years to come.
To Love and Let Go by Rachel Brathen
To Love and Let Go was written by Rachel Brathen, published in 2019, and has around 336 pages.
This book is really loved by Glennon Doyle, as she said, “Rachel beautifully illustrates that loving fiercely and grieving deeply are often two halves of the same whole. Her story will break you down and lift you up.”
To Love and Let Go follows our main character Rachel Brathen. She collapses to the floor of an airport due to excruciating stomach pains. She has surgery, only to wake up and find out that her incredibly close, best friend has died in a car accident.
Three years later, Rachel looks happy on the outside with her new engagement and blossoming career, but deep down her grief starts to get the best of her, to start to control her life. She needs to find a way through the loss.
She uses her first pregnancy as a time to heal and reflect on her unsolved traumas, leaving Rachel with a sense of wisdom about life and death. She believes anyone can get through the fire of adversity with love.
You Deserve the Truth by Erica Williams Simon
You Deserve the Truth: Change the Stories that Shaped Your World and Build a World-Changing Life was written by Erica Williams Simon. This book was published in 2019, and is 256 pages long.
When recommending the book, You Deserve the Truth, Glennon Doyle said, “In this beautifully written, smart and soulful book, Erica Williams Simon gives us what we all need more of: The knowing that life, at its best, is more about wonder than certainty. With You Deserve the Truth, Erica invites us beyond the old stories we’ve been told about ourselves, and into the wonder of our dreams, hopes and love, so we can find our truth and purpose there.”
Have you ever looked at someone’s Instagram pictures and thought, “Wow! They must be living a great life!” I’m sure we all have.
The problem is that behind those fancy pictures is a generation of overwhelmed and confused, exhausted and anxious, people who are not leading lives that are shaped by themselves. Instead, their lives are shaped by others on social media, their workplace, and even their environment.
Our author, Erica Williams Simon, saw this terrible pattern, and decided that she was going to quit her job as a rising political media star to build a life that she thought would be worth living. Now, she wants to teach an entire generation to do the same.
You Deserve the Truth is a part memoir, part self-help, full guidebook for those who seek their own authentic life.
The Purpose of Power by Alicia Garza
The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart was written by Alicia Garza. The book was published in 2020, and is about 336 pages long.
Glennon Doyle was inspired by this book saying, “This book has expanded my mind, my heart, my understanding, my conviction and my respect for Alicia Garza – organizer, political strategist, co-creator of #BlackLivesMatter and a damn American Hero. Thank you for this book and for how you use your life, Alicia. Deep Deep Respect, Awe, and Gratitude. Get this book, Loves. Read it slowly and carefully. It is exactly what we need right now.”
“Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.” These are the words of a young Alicia Garza written in a Facebook post in 2013 in what she called “a love letter to Black people.”
She had spent a lot of time organizing for activism, but it was this letter that inspired #BlackLivesMatter. During her time as an organizer, Alicia Garza learned many lessons about what to do and what to avoid.
In her book, The Purpose of Power, Alicia Garza offers us different lessons than the traditional “rules for radicals”. She believes that making room to accept people is the way to inspire those to fight for a cause that they believe in.
The Purpose of Power will teach you how to bring people together to create change in the modern world.
Fun fact: This book was named as one of the best books of the year by the magazine, Marie Claire.
Conversations with People Who Hate Me by Dylan Marron
Conversations with People Who Hate Me: 12 Things I Learned from Talking to Internet Strangers was written by Dylan Marron. He published the book in early 2022. It is 272 pages long.
Whene asked if she has every read a book in one sitting, Glennon Doyle said, “I read Conversations with People Who Hate Me in one sitting; hoping that Dylan Marron’s wisdom, sincerity, and hilarity might help me believe again in the potential goodness of the internet. It worked. I believe! Dylan Marron is the internet’s Love Warrior. His work is fresh, deeply honest, wildly creative, and right on time.”
Dylan Marron has written an extremely creative book with Conversations with People Who Hate Me. You may know him already, as he is super popular online with his many videos and series including Every Single Word and Sitting in Bathrooms with Trans People.
Despite his online popularity, many people take to insulting him online, calling him a “beta male,” and a “moron,” and a “talentless hack.” You know, names that make you lie awake crying at night. Okay, maybe not that bad.
But, what Dylan Marron does, instead of freaking out, is ask his haters to have a conversation with him over the phone. The surprising, yet fascinating conversations are all revealed in this book.
Dylan Marron shares what he believes are the best of these conversations. These are the difficult conversations that we can all learn from, see things from other points of view, and look at humanity for what it really is rather than the division we see online.
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
The Book of Longings was written by Sue Monk Kidd, and published in 2020. The book contains 416 pages, making it the longest Glennon Doyle book recommendation.
When Glennon Doyle recommended the book she said, “This is the first book that has literally taken my breath away. I kept having to close it and breathe deeply, again and again. This book – on women’s longing and silencing and awakening — is a true and beautiful masterpiece. I will carry it in my heart forever, because it reflects what was always there.”
The Book of Longings is an interesting book, set in biblical times, that follows the story of Ana, a rebellious and ambitious young woman, who has a curious mind and incredible talent. As an outlet, she writes in secret about the oppressed and neglected woman.
Then she meets Jesus. Like literally. An 18 year old Jesus of Nazarath shows up in her life and awakens her heart. They share each other’s wisdom and spiritual ideas, and end up married after some time.
Ana makes a home with Jesus and his family – his brothers, James and Simon, and his mother, Mary. Soon Ana’s charismatic adopted brother, Judas, steps into her life and intensifies her feelings of the Roman occupation of Israel.
Along with her friends she gets into a little trouble. Nothing that can’t be solved quickly, except once, when she had to flee Nazareth just as Jesus was beginning to gather followers from his teachings.
Despite the book’s premise, it looks at Jesus more as a human than a religious figure. The story is really about the pursuit and courage of women to defy the expectations placed on them.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Untamed was Glennon Doyle’s third and most popular book reaching number one on the New York Times Bestseller List. Like her other two books, Untamed is a memoir. The book was published in 2020, and has 352 pages.
In Untamed, Glennon Doyle believes that we all strive the be good. We want to be good daughters, good mothers, good employees, good friends, but rarely does this leave us with fulfillment. Instead, we are tired and overwhelmed, asking ourselves, “Shouldn’t life have been more beautiful?”
Glennon Doyle said she had been hiding her discontent for years until one day she met eyes with a woman at a conference and fell instantly in love. She found her real, authentic voice in that moment. She finally felt like she could start living.
Untamed is the story of a wake up call. It is the story of motherhood. It is the story of family. It is the story of brokenness and divorce. It is the story of a new family, and it is the story of one person’s ability to bring her full self to the table.
Fun fact: Untamed was also a Reese Witherspoon book recommendation! She said, “It is packed with incredible insight about what it means to be a woman today.”