Carry On Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed

Glennon Doyle Melton is a very popular blogger who inspires readers with her uniquely honest voice.  I discovered her about a year ago after I launched my own blog.  As with anyone who is new to the creatively diverse community of blogging, I found myself on her site, Mommastery.com.   Everyone who I networked with insisted that I check her out, because she’s a blogging rock star.

Her book, Carry On Warrior:  Thoughts on Life Unarmed, is a fabulous compilation of her most popular posts and new material.  Resilience is a central theme of most of her essays, because Glennon is a warrior who has battled back from addiction and bulimia.  She has no secrets and is very open about her colorful past.  Her raw honesty about her faults and the mistakes she’s made will disarm anyone who may judge some of her choices.  The truth is, no one could be harder on the author than she is on herself.

My favorite essays address the struggles she’s had finding her footing as a mother.  Her stories and musings are so relatable that I could see myself and my friends on the pages.   I love that Glennon refuses to buy in to the notion of being the perfect mother, the perfect woman.  She knows that’s an impossible illusion and urges women to put down their weapons and stop competing with each other.

One of my favorite chapters in the book, “Day One,” is a letter she wrote to a friend on her first sober morning.  I’ve had personal experiences with people who suffer from alcoholism, but I never truly understood the struggle.  The essay’s heartbreaking description of what an addict goes through to stay sober was a revelation.  It takes incredible courage to be so open about such personal matters.

Glennon’s writing is poignant and charming –it takes the pressure off of the reader.  The heavy parts of the author’s story are nicely balanced with the funny and charming aspects of her personality.  The desperate attempts to avoid housework are hilarious (and got my wheels turning).

The author writes a great deal about being a Christian, but she doesn’t preach to the reader.  I also found it very interesting to learn that she’s very liberal in her beliefs.  Although she acknowledges that life can be brutal, Glennon’s committed to living it beautifully out loud.  We all make mistakes.  No one is perfect. And we’re all entitled to forgiveness.

Love always wins, so carry on warriors.

This post was inspired by Mama Kat’s World’s Greatest Writers Workshop.  One of this week’s prompts was to write a book review.  Lucky me♥!

Have your read Carry On Warrior?  Do you fallow Momastery?  The book has recently been published in Paperback – go for it!  You will not be disappointed.  The audio book is charming as well, because Glennon does the reading.