Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
Published: September 6th 2016 by St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Memoir, non-fiction, biography
Pages: 272

Oprah announced in 2016 that Love Warrior was a book club read, stating “You’re gonna absolutely love this book and the spirit of it, whether you’re married or single, whether you’re a mom or not.” And I think she was right, at least in part. We follow  Glennon (whom I’ve never heard about before this book) from an advanced pretty little girl reading at age 4, to a married mother of 3. That’s many phases, so wherever you are in life, you should be able to connect to her on some points.

“I’m an early reader and, at four, conversel like an adult. But I soon realize that smart is more complicated than beautiful.”

I was with her through large parts of the book, struggling with “fitting in” and feeling removed or out of touch. In some parts I felt such a connection to her writing that I felt that it was something I could have written myself. She speaks about feeling alone inside, even when she’s with people she loves, or at parties or in crowds. She speaks about numbing those feelings, to the point where she loses control.

“I think I’m requesting a hospital for my body, because my suspicion is that my body is broken. But I can tell by the way the counselor looks at me that she suspects my mind is broken. She calls my parents, and that afternoon I am driven to a place for people with broken minds.”

I loved parts of this book and then I fell out of it. My life is very different from Glennons, I’ve never had an addiction, I’ve never been married, I’ve never been devout in that way, so I zoned out a little when her whole world started revolving around her marriage and church. I can’t relate or connect to that at all.

I still think it’s a good book, it’s inspiring to read about someone hitting rock bottom and turning things around. We like to root for the underdog. I think most people see themselves as underdogs and maybe that’s why we root for them. It’s David and Goliath, and we’re all David and Goliath is this thing we call life.