Untamed

 A book reader’s to-be-read list is often built from their soul. Sometimes, you will pull a book from the shelf to read that has been sitting for a long time, but as you get into it, you realize that your soul needs that book at that moment. For me, this year, that book was Untamed by Glennon Doyle.

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It is a memoir in essays that relays Doyle’s story and transition of becoming a woman who is comfortable in her skin and confident in who she is as a person, a wife, and a mother. She shares some of her most vulnerable moments and thoughts with readers and how she has lived, grown, and learned from them. She talks of marriage, addiction, parenting, mental health, career shifts, and more.

What’s beautiful about her writing is her willingness to be vulnerable. In that vulnerability, she doesn’t hold back, she lays it all out–the ugly and the pretty–and we see the growth in her life in her writing. I wish that I could allow myself to be that vulnerable in my writing; maybe one day.

So many of her essays hit me deep in my soul. Some days, I could only read one because her words resonated so much that all I could do was sit and be in my thoughts and feelings for a while. That this book had been on my shelf for about nine months before I started reading it and that I began reading it as I began the process of a career and life shift is no coincidence. Again, my soul was in deep need of this book at this moment.

Everyone should read this book, especially women, but everyone would be better. We all have things that hold us back that we have to work through, things that have tamed us. Using her stories and experience, Doyle shows the world that we can be untamed and retrained to break free from what has been holding us back from being our authentic selves.

Savor

 Sometimes, a book just gets to you. It gets into your mind, your soul, and your feelings. I recently finished reading Savor, by Fatima Ali, and it has infiltrated my mind, soul, and feelings.

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If you’re unfamiliar with Fatima Ali, that means you don’t watch many cooking competition shows. She was introduced to so many people around the world by competing on Chopped and, more infamously, Top Chef. She always cooked with her soul and her heritage in every dish. Her dream was to awaken Americans to the delicious beauty of her native Pakistani cuisine. However, her dream had to be lived by someone else because, at the age of 29, she died of cancer.

The first 75% of the book has chapters from both Fatima and her mother discussing Fatima’s childhood and upbringing in Pakistan. They also discuss her move to the United States for culinary school and all of the opportunities that came afterward. They talk of the good and the bad, the struggles of family, and the unconditional support from those you love when you have a dream.

The last 25% is about her cancer battle, still with chapters by both Fatima and her mother. They talk of the death of Fatima’s dreams along with her body. They discuss the frustration, grief, stress, and heartache of watching a loved one die. But they also talk about the difficulties in processing a mother losing a child. 

As a mom, I felt the anguish coming off the pages. I felt sadness for her going through losing her child, watching her child die, and not being able to imagine being in that position. And then I look at Fatima’s bucket list and am reminded that my children will be left behind by me one day, and I need to fulfill their bucket lists with them, to leave them full of memories of a mom who made their dreams a reality.

While this was a heartwrenching read, I am so glad I read it. She has a fantastic story, and she wanted to inspire other women to take risks and live their dreams. Hopefully, her memoir will do that throughout generations to come.

The Women

 In 1965, America was changing. The children born during and right after World War Two were now adults, and they began envisioning America their way. Born the children of patriotic veterans, they are now watching their friends and brothers be sent to Vietnam for a war that doesn't make sense. But the patriots will still do the right thing: volunteer to serve their country. Finley McGrath is one such patriot, and so is his little sister, Frankie.

The McGraths were raised on stories of military heroism. The men joined up while the women made homes that supported their servicemembers. Frankie, however, isn't ready to settle down and become a housewife. She has a brand new degree in nursing, and there's a war that needs nurses, so Frankie signs up with the Army Nurse Corps and heads to Vietnam.

Every day, Frankie sees the worst of war. She also builds bonds with those she serves. Those who understand. When she returns home, though, it is an entirely different war. No one wants to believe that women were in Vietnam, and everyone thinks that Frankie needs to put that part of her life away and move forward. But without the support she needs to cope with the war experiences, Frankie feels like she's just a disappointing failure to everyone.

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The Women is a tragic and beautiful story in a typical Kristin Hannah style. It is a story that desperately needed to be told. While it focuses on one woman, it spotlights the fact that female servicemembers are often forgotten about. Those women need all the support that their male counterparts get.

I did have points where I struggled while reading. As a military spouse, PTSD sufferer, and child of an addict, some things were difficult to read. But these things are the reality for many people, and just because they hit too close to home doesn't mean I should avoid them because those stories are just as valid as mine.

I can say that this is one book that lives up to all of the hype it has been given, and I recommend it highly, especially for book clubs, as it has so many perspectives for discussion.