After reading a short interview in my Oprah magazine last month with the author, Glennon Doyle Melton, I was drawn to purchase Love Warrior because of what seemed like a lot of similarities in our lives. Luckily her memoir ended up not being quite so familiar as I had initially hoped, as her struggle with addiction is not quite a road I have traveled, but I was brought to tears many times regardless. Melton tells a story of her journey of self-discovery that every woman can find some connection with. Her struggle with food, I could connect with, alcohol and drugs, not so much. But once she finds happiness in her marriage and family, I could relate and then after the implosion of her marriage, her journey took her places that I had visited in my own journey. She happened to have a partner who wanted to find healing with her which may or may not have made her journey easier, but it certainly made it different from mine on some level. Any woman can read this book and find connection as she speaks with such clarity about the role we have in society that has been created for us primarily by man. She learns to break out of this role as many of us do in time.
In the wake of this political season, with a woman running for the first time in a major party with a really good chance of winning, you'd think we would hear more about the plight of women in America. I want to hear more about the abuses, the lack of support, the hardships of women who work, who raise children, who take care of their parents. While we hear the about the abuses of a man with power, there is only silence on the other side. I am excited about the prospect of a woman running the country, finally, but we need a woman who has a voice, a real voice of what it is be a strong, independent woman. I'm not so excited about someone who set her own career aside to support a husband who is guilty of the same abuses of the man running against her. The current first lady would have been soooo much better!! Oh, well... someone has to break the glass ceiling and then we go from there. Like the first black president with race relations, I don't expect things for women to get any better with a female president, but progress will be made. The next black president will do more as I hope the next woman president will have clearer voice.
Amazing quotes from Love Warrior: “We know what the world wants from us. We know we must decide whether to stay small, quiet, and uncomplicated or allow ourselves to grow as big, loud, and complex as we were made to be. Every girl must decide whether to be true to herself or true to the world. Every girl must decide whether to settle for adoration or fight for love.”
“Grief is love's souvenir. It's our proof that we once loved. Grief is the receipt we wave in the air that says to the world: Look! Love was once mine. I love well. Here is my proof that I paid the price.”
“You are not supposed to be happy all the time. Life hurts and it's hard. Not because you're doing it wrong, but because it hurts for everybody. Don't avoid the pain. You need it. It's meant for you. Be still with it, let it come, let it go, let it leave you wtih the fuel you'll burn to get your work done on this earth.”
