Review: Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton

Title: Love Warrior
Author: Glennon Doyle Melton
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publish Date: September 6, 2016
Source: Library

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Just when Glennon Doyle Melton was beginning to feel she had it all figured out—three happy children, a doting spouse, and a writing career so successful that her first book catapulted to the top of the New York Times bestseller list—her husband revealed his infidelity and she was forced to realize that nothing was as it seemed. A recovering alcoholic and bulimic, Glennon found that rock bottom was a familiar place. In the midst of crisis, she knew to hold on to what she discovered in recovery: that her deepest pain has always held within it an invitation to a richer life.

Love Warrior is the story of one marriage, but it is also the story of the healing that is possible for any of us when we refuse to settle for good enough and begin to face pain and love head-on. This astonishing memoir reveals how our ideals of masculinity and femininity can make it impossible for a man and a woman to truly know one another - and it captures the beauty that unfolds when one couple commits to unlearning everything they’ve been taught so that they can finally, after thirteen years of marriage, fall in love."

My Two Cents:

"Love Warrior" is the second memoir from Glennon Doyle Melton. It focuses on the story of her marriage and all of the up's and down's that come with it. It's about more than that though: namely how you live a more truthful and open life. Her ruminations on what it means to do this were enlightening and brave. This is the kind of book that I know that I will want to go back to over and over again.

It's hard to be open and to lay yourself bare but that is exactly what Melton does throughout this book. It's what I most appreciated in this book. Too often we swallow down are real feelings and we feel the need to project a picture-perfect dream of what our life is like. Life is good but life is also incredibly messy and even though we all know that, it's hard to be totally and completely unarmed with each other. There's one part of the book where Melton talks about saying "I'm fine" when you really are not fine. She shows that often if you let others in when times get tough, it can help you. Such simple advice but oh so hard to follow.

Melton isn't afraid to be disarmed. Her words often feel like they are just tumbling out and although they may be imperfect, they're important and they're clear and they're true. Even if your relationship is in shape this book still may be a good pick for you if you're going through a difficult time.