Title: Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed
Author: Glennon Doyle Melton
Basic Overview: Glennon shares many relatable stories about her life and ways that she has used her background to raise her family and continue to “show up” for others. She has started a wonderful world of women building each other up. By being an honest storyteller and sharing her true self, Glennon has inspired many to accept themselves and others—no matter what.
Glennon comes from a background of multiple addictions, and she shares the heartbreak, stress, tough choices, and self-acceptance that she is still going through in her journey. Life is hard. Some times are harder than others. With an understanding that we all have insecurities and walls that we use to hide our truth from others, Glennon is leading a movement of connecting people together using those truths as the glue that brings us all in.
The honest way she speaks to her reader will pull you in as if you are sitting in her living room and talking with a lifelong friend. She goes deeper than the surface, down to the hard, honest stuff, and makes you laugh, cry, and realize that we are not alone in the craziness. She encourages you to “do hard things” and shows you that love really does win.
Parts I Liked Best: It’s difficult to pick favorites here as I had no less than 20 “favorite” parts flagged. (My husband asked if I was going to flag every page.)
There was one powerful line that enforced the idea that we all belong together. This line read: “People who need help sometimes look a lot like people who don’t need help” (15). This rang so true to me. People can often pull themselves together on the outside, but are crumbling on the inside. Even people from perfectly happy and “normal” families have worries. If we didn’t get to know people on a deeper level, we would only know what the surface shows. We need to dig for more than just hair and nail polish discussion. We need to be open with our struggles so that others are comfortable sharing theirs. And when that happens, listen. Show up and listen. People need to share their worries. As Glennon points out, “By keeping my worries secret, they became problems” (134).
Another favorite part, and a trick I borrowed from the book, was about eye color. When my daughter was starting high school, I told her that I wanted her to meet at least one new person each day. When she got home, I wanted to know the person’s name, eye color, and something interesting about him or her. I love that Glennon suggested finding out the eye color of new friends, or even of bullies, because it means you’re looking them in the eye when you speak. And by looking someone in the eye, you’re connecting. What a wonderful skill to learn at a young age!
How this Book Made an Impact in My Life: It’s not just this book that has made an impact on my life, but the entire idea behind Momastery. Glennon has been a favorite of mine for years now. Ever since “Don’t Carpe Diem” hit the Internet, I’ve read everything I can get my hands on. I have laughed, cried, agreed, and disagreed. So many times I hear myself say, “Yes. THIS—YES!” Her honest, open, brutiful (beautiful+brutal) truths have made me fall in love with her journey, respect my own, and understand how important it is to just show up for others.
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Edited by Aubrey Degn, Amanda Lewis, and Becky Fawcett.
