Love Warrior (Oprah's Book Club: A Memoir)

By: Glennon Doyle

Narrated by: Glennon Doyle

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

An Oprah Bookclub 2016 Selection

The highly anticipated memoir by best-selling author Glennon Doyle Melton, Love Warrior tells the story of her journey of self-discovery after the implosion of her marriage.

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 best seller 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 13 years of marriage, commit to living true - true to themselves and to each other. 

Love Warrior is a gorgeous and inspiring account of how we are born to be warriors: strong, powerful, and brave; able to confront the pain and claim the love that exists for us all. This chronicle of a beautiful, brutal journey speaks to anyone who yearns for deeper, truer relationships and a more abundant, authentic life.

©2016 Glennon Doyle Melton (P)2016 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Author-narrator Glennon Doyle Melton's heartfelt performance underscores the brutal honesty of the story of her ongoing journey to accepting love - of self, of family, and of God." (AudioFile)

A good examination of Pain, Hope and Love.

I have never heard of Ms Melton before reading this book, and that may explain much about my review. Perhaps if I had read her previously I would give this one more than 3 stars ... or would have skipped reading it.

I really liked the first half of the book. Her insight into love, loss, hope, pain and self is something that spoke to me. I saw my marriage in this book. I saw my hopes in it too. I was impressed by her ability to take the lovely and loveless moments of life and put them into words which were so raw and real. But then the book became more of a lecture or a sermon and it lost me. I understand that she is a believer and that she attributes the repair of her marriage to God working through her husband and herself. But it seemed too simplistic. I would have liked the book so much better if she more fully examined the hardness of the pain, the grief, the difficulty of accepting the changes and finally the growth of the love and forgiveness. I wish there had been more depth to the exploration of the pain.

Starts out great but takes a sharp right hand turn

Would you try another book from Glennon Doyle Melton and/or Glennon Doyle Melton?

No, probably not

Would you recommend Love Warrior (Oprah's Book Club: A Memoir) to your friends? Why or why not?

I would not...it starts out great and it is an interesting story and read well but turns into what feels like one long mommy blog entry. When the character starts seeing the therapist is when it lost me...the language, the story seemed contrived and super super religious.

What three words best describe Glennon Doyle Melton’s performance?

theatrical, religious, predictable

Did Love Warrior (Oprah's Book Club: A Memoir) inspire you to do anything?

It inspired me to look more into an author when i am reading a memoir

Any additional comments?

I was not familiar with Melton's blog or background...if i knew that religion of the traditional sort was so prevelant in her writing, i wouldnt have listened. I get it...you love god. Some of the story was completey unbelievable, i.e. the long rant on explaining "sexy" to her small children.....there is no way to small girls sat and listened to a long explanation of what sexy meant. Unrealistic and the phrase " on the bathroom floor" was way overused. I bought this book because Elizabeth Gilbert endorsed it.....Melton has definately read Eat Pray Love....way to much of the same verbage.

Cover to cover.

I could not put it down. I saw myself, my daughters, my parents, my marriage and the marriage of my daughter inall of this. A touching, honest and painfully true story that is more common than we'd like to think. I enjoyed every minute of it while being tortured by much of it as well. I will make different decisions as a result of reading it. What more could one ask for from a book.

An outstanding take on healing and self discovery

Glennons truth and voice are refreshing and real. I found so much of myself in this story about what it truly means to love, heal, and discover who you truly are. No spoilers here but I truly believe everyone should read this book. Absolutely outstanding. I laughed. I cried. I saw myself.

Disappointing

I have to break away from the crowd and join DownSouthDiva and Reademandweep in their negative reviews of this book. Glennon Doyle Melton's self-portrayal is disturbingly narcissistic, and hers is not a voice I will ever want to listen to again (although, perhaps, it was perfect for this whiny memoir). I was hesitant to buy the book, since I have been disappointed more than once by Oprah's picks, but after seeing Ms. Melton on the CBS Morning News, I thought there might actually be some thought-provoking stuff in this book. I will admit that I found a bit of such stuff in the first half, but the story became so tedious and repetitive as it progressed that I began to lose heart. Then came God (after drugs, alcohol, sex, and bulimia didn't do the trick), at which point I definitely lamented my "against my better judgment" decision. It is clear to me that Glennon Doyle Melton jumps from "cure" to "cure" (e.g., therapy, yoga, meditative breathing) for her self-indulgent angst. She's only 40 years old; I fully expect a sequel to Love Warrior in which we find that her happy ending was just one more temporary fix.

Incredible

I devoured this book in just one day. Incredibly written account of truth, brutal honesty and bravery. 5 stars!

We are all spoiled....

First, I will say I like Glennon's style of writing and can respect her ability to share so much of her journey with readers. I guess what stands out to me is how spoiled so many of us are today. I kept thinking that she was lucky to be able to attend a college (even if she took advantage of it) or what a luxury for her to be able to stay at home full time with her young children. And who was paying her rent and bills when her world was falling apart around her? It all just seems so whiny of us to constantly complain and seek fillers. So many people in the world are hungry or abused or living in war-torn towns and villages. The last thing they have to focus on is themselves. We could all benefit from focusing on others--- instead of self. I did enjoy the book and took away several good ideas and reflections. It's worth a read or listen. Maybe just check it out at the library though. Just being honest.

Overrated. Disappointing juvenile narration, patronizing

More often than not I enjoy Oprah's pics but not this time. Although I can relate to Glennon's struggles to survive in a sexist world, an awful lot of the book was patronizing. Especially towards the end she goes on and on and on, patronizingly repeating her personal value system as if it's profound. I understand that for someone who spent most of her youth abusing herself, yoga and learning to love others was a real revelation but I found it a bit preachy and repetitive.

I do not think Glennon should read her own books. Reading is a skill just like writing and not everyone does it well. Her voice is immature and annoying after a chapter or two. For someone who writes a book about owning who she is, I found it odd that she is still stuck in her little girl voice. It's hard to take wisdom advice from someone who hasn't given up her cutesy voice. We all have idiosyncratic taste in readers so many won't care about this.

I think Glennon has a nice writing style. I just wish she had stuck to her telling her own story and avoided preaching.

Save Your Credit

I purchased this hoping for an inspirational story or at least something profound or deep. Instead I wasted my weekend listening to a vain, shallow frigid woman detail her sordid sex life. I thought I would read of some tragedy (maybe abuse, neglect, abandonment) that fueled her to become bulimic & alcoholic but in her righteous shallowness she describes herself as privileged with a loving family that becomes bulimic because she wants to be skinny and have boys attention. She becomes an alcoholic because she is a college party girl. Her whole existence from childhood until now is getting constant approval from everyone (classmates, boyfriends, her sister, social media, etc...) At the end of the story I felt sorry for the husband because he endured living with such a needy, attention seeking, confused mess. She blames everyone (literally the whole world) for her madness and never accepts responsibility that she was just a wild child that created her own self destruction. Her poor husband never had a chance. Her constant disgust for sex & rejection had to become exhausting. So what her husband cheated...it's happened to millions of women and they overcame much more than this petty mess without ever seeking accolades for it. I'm convinced all the positive reviews are from her friends and family. No one could really take this shallow nonsense seriously. Thank goodness I can return this and get my credit back. Now if I could get the 8 hours I wasted listening to this back....

Humanizing..

Glennon tells a story that makes you feel not alone in a world that is so disconnected. She's raw and real and has shown bravery (and her families and especially husband) to tell her journey to healing her own cultural traumas. I think so many women can identify with her and her message about body connection and wisdom is a needed one. And her messages about compassion and understanding throughout the hardships of marriage are a testament to her good character. 5 stars, loved it, couldn't listen fast enough.

waste of time ; bitchy moaning, bible bashing....

what a huge waste of time. bitching, self absorbed narcissism and bible bashing. all-in-one. avoid.

this is raw get you in the soul stuff

I listened to an interview with Oprah and Glenn on when she was telling the story about her response to an online survey and I though now this woman sounds like my sister, my rock and need more of Glennon. Love Warrior is raw , real, no sugar coating , she speaks of all the thoughts we have but are too shit scared to say never mind act on them. I absolutely loved this book and listening to Glennon's voice makes it even more deeper and meaningful. this book is definitely going to the top of my inspirational and kick me out of bed every day books.

so inspirational

I can't praise this book enough . I devoured it. Her insighrs into life are universal. Amazing x

Great!!!

So inspiring and life changing. Thank you Glennon. I loved it. I only struggled to take breaks.