'Untamed' and the search for Wild
I recently read 'Untamed' by Glennon Doyle.
Their description: "Glennon decided to quit abandoning herself and to instead abandon the world's expectations of her."
My description: It's a story about a woman who leaves a very 'acceptable' life (a good married Christian mom) for... another very politically correct life. She marries a famous, accomplished, good looking woman, and her ex-husband and her successfully raise a healthy, blended family. She still has faith, but now it's not tied to an organized institution. I mean, doesn't that fit neatly into what the world expects in 2020?
The story is very well written, and I'm glad she's found her happiness (and I do believe it is a great and beautiful path for her), but the concepts are actually just as cookie cutter as the life she left. Which got me thinking, I should have known. A book like that, that hits the NYT bestseller list, is going to agree nicely with the times we're living in.
I want to read thoughts and opinions that are truly wild.
I want to read ideologies that shock me, that rock my assumptions, that make me question myself and the world we live in. I want to absorb concepts that are not PC. That don't fit neatly into our narratives of 'good' and 'bad'. That aren't 'so 2020.'
In order to do that, it might be best to go back in time and read some classics from yesteryear.
Today, my Dad left a surprise on my side of the dinner table. A brand new copy of 1984 lay there, waiting to be picked up and devoured. Perfect timing. Thanks Dad.