Adele is the first to say she’s had a transformative year — changing how she approaches her mind and body (and no, we aren’t talking about her weight — and you probably shouldn’t be either) as she navigates her career, her role as a parent and the global pandemic.
In a post on Instagram on Saturday, the singer shared a raving review of the memoir that she says was a major catalyst in her life in the last year: Untamed by Glennon Doyle.
“If you’re ready, this book will shake your brain and make your soul scream. 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. Whew!” the singer wrote. “Anyone who has any kind of capacity to truly let go and give into yourself with any kind of desire to hold on for dear life — Do it. Read it. Live it. Practice it. We are a lot! But we are meant to be a lot! ‘A good life is a hard life!'”
Blurbed by Reese Witherspoon and Elizabeth Gilbert, Untamed is a memoir following Doyle’s journey releasing the external expectations of the world that didn’t serve her and learning to listen to herself: “For many years, Glennon Doyle denied her own discontent. Then, while speaking at a conference, she looked at a woman across the room and fell instantly in love. Three words flooded her mind: There She Is. At first, Glennon assumed these words came to her from on high. But she soon realized they had come to her from within. This was her own voice—the one she had buried beneath decades of numbing addictions, cultural conditioning, and institutional allegiances. This was the voice of the girl she had been before the world told her who to be. Glennon decided to quit abandoning herself and to instead abandon the world’s expectations of her. She quit being good so she could be free. She quit pleasing and started living.”
Adele’s love for this book is obvious — and you can see how being in the spotlight, in a culture where everyone has too many damn opinions about how you look, act, move through the world how freeing it could be to turn your pleasing energy inward, embrace the parts of you that are “extra” and “a lot” and just do you.
“Read this book and have a highlighter on hand to make notes because you’ll want to refer back to it trust me! I never knew that I am solely responsible for my own joy, happiness and freedom! Who knew our own liberation liberates those around us? Cause I didn’t!” she adds. “I thought we were meant to be stressed and disheveled, confused and selfless like a Disney character! ProBloodyFound!! You’re an absolute don Glennon ♥️”
Of course, it’s easy to have a love hate relationship with the books that wind up in the “self-help” genre. It is easier to be “solely responsible” for your own joy when you have the resources and circumstances (money, childcare, a roof over your head, a lack of systemic oppression threatening your life or the lives of your children) to dedicate your time and energy to yourself in this very specific way. So the bootstrap-lite, “love yourself ’til the world stops hurting you” energy can certainly be a miss for many folks (often, myself included) who just cannot relate to those particular circumstances. It’s also frustrating and tiring to see all the personal, emotional and mental work (which is a difficult, relatable and deeply human struggle!) that Adele’s clearly doing be reduced down to her body, her weight and her appearance.
But since there is no manual on how to do right by yourself consistently and wholly, we’ll take the inspo we can get from other folks on this same self-love journey (and, yeah, probably add this to our to-read pile.)
Our mission at SheKnows is to empower and inspire women, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.
Before you go, check out these powerful quotes to inspire healthy attitudes about food and body image:
Leave a Comment