The proper title of this book is Carry On, Warrior: The Power of Embracing your Messy, Beautiful Life. This was a gift from my mother this past Christmas. She loaned it to my sister when she was about my age. My sister liked it so much that she took it. Though, to be fair, that’s pretty common for her (AKA, don’t loan her anything).
To start, Glennon Doyle Melton is a recovering addict…alcohol, drugs, bulimia…you name it, she’s fighting it. Her marriage arose from an unexpected pregnancy. From there, her faith arose.
Classification
I’m not actually sure how you would classify this book. Self help? Memoir? I’m not entirely sure. They’re easily digestible nuggets (as I described to the women at my office when I recommended it to them), almost like blog posts. A couple of sections/chapters are letters to her children or different people in her life. The book itself is divided into a few themes: Waking Up, Committing, Multiplying, Holding On, and Letting Go. Some of the sections resonated a bit more with me than others, but it was a lovely book.
Nuggets to Share
I am not one to deface books. However, there are instances where I read books (like You Are A Badass) when I’ll put little stars in the margins of passages I love and want to share. May the book gods please forgive me for this.
At one point, she was talking about sharing your gifts and doing whatever makes you happy.
When you write your truth, it is a love offering to the world because it helps us feel braver and less alone.
Glennon learns of her husband’s infidelity, and shares about their endeavor to work through it or move on. They go to church one day, and hear a great sermon regarding Easter.
…Sunday might be right around the corner, but there is no fast forwarding through Friday and Saturday. The cross has to come before the resurrection. It’s the way of the world. And unless you bear witness to the truth, unless you face it head on and choose to open your heart to the pain, you won’t bear witness to the miracle either. If you run away from the crucifixion, you might just miss the resurrection.
Man, does that say something beautiful about pain and trials.
Glennon goes on later to talk about her children at school. She, her husband, and her son had a ritual at the end of every day that they would sit together and allow her son Chase to release all of his worries and concerns to them so that they can work through them.
I think this worry talk is a ritual worth keeping. Because if we empty our hearts every night, they won’t get too heavy or cluttered. Our hearts will stay light and open with lots of room for good new things to come.
I mean, is there a better excuse for writing things down at the end of a day?
One of my favorites:
Be confident because you are a child of God. Be humble because everyone else is too.
In regards to what we can give others:
The only meaningful thing we can offer one another is love. Not advice, not questions about our choices, not suggestions for the future, just love.
Final Thoughts
I really loved this book. I’ve recommended it to every female I know and can think of. I finished it as quickly as I could so that I could go ahead and loan it to my friend. I’ve appreciated other “get your butt in gear, girl” books, but this really was a self love book. I would 100% recommend this.
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