Love Warrior (Oprah's Book Club)

by Fred Abbott, Glennon Doyle Melton

Overview

Oprah’s Book Club 2016 Selection

The highly anticipated new memoir by bestselling author Glennon Doyle Melton 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 bestseller 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 thirteen 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250128546
Publisher:	Flatiron Books
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Series:	Oprah's Book Club Series
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Glennon Doyle Melton is the author of the New York Times bestseller Carry On, Warrior and founder of the online community Momastery, where she reaches more than one million people each day. She is also the creator and president of Together Rising, a nonprofit organization that has raised close to five million dollars for families around the world through its Love Flash Mobs, which have revolutionized online giving. Glennon is a sought-after public speaker, and her work has been featured on The TODAY Show, The Talk, OWN, and NPR; in The New York Times, Ladies' Home Journal, Glamour, Family Circle, Parents Magazine, Newsweek,Woman's Day, and The Huffington Post; and in other television and print outlets. Glennon lives in Florida with her family.

What People are Saying About This

New York Times bestselling author of Rising Strong and Daring Greatly - Brene Brown

"This is a book about what it means to be human—to wrestle with love, hurt, addiction, vulnerability, intimacy, and grace. Love Warrior blew me away. We can all find pieces of our own stories reflected in Glennon's powerful words. We are so lucky to have her courage and wisdom in the world. We need this kind of truth telling if we are ever going to find our way back to each other."

New York Times bestselling author of A Return to Love - Marianne Williamson

"This elegant, moving memoir is about one woman's marriage but also much more than that. Glennon writes about a hunger for love that all of us feel and the only food that ultimately feeds us. She understands the unique relationship between spiritual and romantic love, and in finding one, she masters the other. Truly a wonderful book."

New York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect - Shauna Niequist

"When I finished the last page of Love Warrior, I sobbed. I sobbed because I was in awe. Because I didn't want it to end. Because it made me believe more deeply in love, in humanity, in forgiveness, in God, in marriage. Glennon and Craig have invited us so far into the messy, beautiful, difficult insides of their hearts and lives, and what we find there is profoundly inspiring. This is a book that will change lives, change marriages, change the way we think and talk about what love really is."

Family Circle

"Glennon Doyle Melton has mastered sharing her emotional life with the world, which she does nearly daily on momastery.com. Now she lays herself bare once again in Love Warrior, chronicling her struggles and the depths of her resilience in the darkest of times. A heroic achievement."

New York Times bestselling author of Love Wins - Rob Bell

"How can I do justice to this book? Moving and brilliant and funny and shocking and heartbreaking and inspiring, Love Warrior raises provocative questions about just what is possible for a person, a marriage, a family, a life. At the heart of this story is the insistence that we don't have to settle—we can explore our shadows, and we're not just going to survive it, but we're going to come out the other side a whole new person with new love, new hope, new strength, and maybe even a new marriage. This is a big, stunning, buoyant, honest, raw glimpse into the life of an astonishing woman, but it is also a punch in the face to anyone anywhere who believes that this is just how it is and it's not going to get any better."

(Oprah's Book Club 2016 selection) - Oprah Winfrey

"A testament to the power of vulnerability. Glennon shows us the clearest meaning of 'To thine own self be true.' It's as if she reached into her heart, captured the raw emotions there, and translated them into words that anyone who's ever known pain or shame—in other words, every human on the planet—can relate to. She's bravely put everything on the table for the whole world to see."

New York Times bestselling author of Big Magic and Eat Pray Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

"Love Warrior reaches a depth of truth and power and emotional gravity that is rarely seen in the world, and even more rarely spoken aloud. Glennon's story about the resurrection of her marriage (a tale of a woman daring to come into her body, and a man daring to come into his mind, and the two of them daring—with outrageous courage—to trust each other) is something beyond merely inspirational; it is epic. I think of this book as the vital, long-overdue, much-needed sister memoir to Eat Pray Love. Glennon lifts the roof off her whole house—her whole life—and examines everything, right out in the open. She has, indeed, become a Love Warrior. This book is an act of love and truth and generosity; it will change lives."

Editorial Reviews

"A testament to the power of vulnerability. Glennon shows us the clearest meaning of 'To thine own self be true.' It's as if she reached into her heart, captured the raw emotions there, and translated them into words that anyone who’s ever known pain or shame—in other words, every human on the planet—can relate to. She's bravely put everything on the table for the whole world to see."
— Oprah Winfrey (Oprah's Book Club 2016 selection)

"Love Warrior reaches a depth of truth and power and emotional gravity that is rarely seen in the world, and even more rarely spoken aloud. Glennon's story about the resurrection of her marriage (a tale of a woman daring to come into her body, and a man daring to come into his mind, and the two of them daring—with outrageous courage—to trust each other) is something beyond merely inspirational; it is epic. I think of this book as the vital, long-overdue, much-needed sister memoir to Eat Pray Love. Glennon lifts the roof off her whole house—her whole life—and examines everything, right out in the open. She has, indeed, become a Love Warrior. This book is an act of love and truth and generosity; it will change lives."
— Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Big Magic and Eat Pray Love

"This is a book about what it means to be human—to wrestle with love, hurt, addiction, vulnerability, intimacy, and grace. Love Warrior blew me away. We can all find pieces of our own stories reflected in Glennon's powerful words. We are so lucky to have her courage and wisdom in the world. We need this kind of truth telling if we are ever going to find our way back to each other."
— Brené Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Rising Strong and Daring Greatly

"How can I do justice to this book? Moving and brilliant and funny and shocking and heartbreaking and inspiring, Love Warrior raises provocative questions about just what is possible for a person, a marriage, a family, a life. At the heart of this story is the insistence that we don't have to settle—we can explore our shadows, and we're not just going to survive it, but we're going to come out the other side a whole new person with new love, new hope, new strength, and maybe even a new marriage. This is a big, stunning, buoyant, honest, raw glimpse into the life of an astonishing woman, but it is also a punch in the face to anyone anywhere who believes that this is just how it is and it's not going to get any better."
— Rob Bell, New York Times bestselling author of Love Wins

"This elegant, moving memoir is about one woman's marriage but also much more than that. Glennon writes about a hunger for love that all of us feel and the only food that ultimately feeds us. She understands the unique relationship between spiritual and romantic love, and in finding one, she masters the other. Truly a wonderful book."
— Marianne Williamson, New York Times bestselling author of A Return to Love

"When I finished the last page of Love Warrior, I sobbed. I sobbed because I was in awe. Because I didn't want it to end. Because it made me believe more deeply in love, in humanity, in forgiveness, in God, in marriage. Glennon and Craig have invited us so far into the messy, beautiful, difficult insides of their hearts and lives, and what we find there is profoundly inspiring. This is a book that will change lives, change marriages, change the way we think and talk about what love really is."
— Shauna Niequist, New York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect

"A compelling story about self-discovery. Candid, brave, and generous."
— Kirkus Reviews

"Glennon Doyle Melton has mastered sharing her emotional life with the world, which she does nearly daily on momastery.com. Now she lays herself bare once again in Love Warrior, chronicling her struggles and the depths of her resilience in the darkest of times. A heroic achievement."
— Family Circle

"A haunting powerhouse of a book."
—Washington Post

"A book with so much painful truth packed into its pages that every person who's ever married or plans to marry should really give it a read."
—Chicago Tribune

"An incredible, dark, poignant, vulnerable personal account about surviving rock bottom and finding a better life. You will be inspired by [Glennon's] resilience, strength, and womanhood."
—Real Simple

"A breathless story, beautifully told. Love Warrior presents an intense and absorbing narrative while reaching for something bigger and more quixotic, the mystery of intimacy itself."
—Bookpage

"This memoir isn’t really about Melton rebuilding her relationship with her husband; it’s about Melton rebuilding her relationship with herself. It’s about one woman letting go of the gendered messages she’s been surrounded by her entire life, and communing with her fullest, most authentic self. Utterly refreshing and... just totally badass."
—Bustle.com

"Melton is not merely relaying a narrative; she is offering her story with the hope and purpose of connection. Love Warrior ...draws you in close, as if the author is talking to you, and only to you. Listening to such a warm and emotionally intelligent author is a worthy investment in a course on difficult conversations. But I suspect that... what will win you over is all the 'terrible magic' that happens when things fall apart."
—New York Times Book Review (This text refers to the audio edition of Love Warrior)

From the Publisher

How a marital crisis became a catalyst for a painful but ultimately enlightening journey into the depths of the human heart.

Though raised by loving parents, Melton (Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed, 2013) felt socially ill at ease and unworthy. At age 10, she found temporary release in the bulimic cycle of bingeing and purging. As a teenager, she hid her vulnerability behind a mask of trendiness and toughness, divorced her sexuality from all emotion, and began drinking. In college, she learned what she perceived to be the "rules" of female success: "thinness is beauty. Beauty is power. Power is Being Chosen by the Boys." Melton found the popularity she desired but at the cost of becoming an alcoholic. When she met her future husband, Craig, he seemed the embodiment of the "wholesomeness and goldenness" that she felt would save her. The two wed after the author, who aborted their first child, became pregnant for the second time. Motherhood forced her to get her alcoholism and bulimia under control, but she felt lonely even with a family to care for and resentful toward Craig for imposing sex on her. After creating a successful blog and book that gave her truth-telling spaces she longed for, her world suddenly collapsed. Craig admitted to multiple infidelities, and the pair separated. During the course of therapy, the author realized that she had been seeking perfection in a man who was as needy and broken as she was. To become whole, each needed to own parts of themselves—Melton, the body, for Craig, the mind—they had disregarded. As the two gradually accepted their flaws and limitations, they learned to communicate more directly and honestly with each other. Though the memoir sometimes reads like a self-help book rather than a narrative, it nevertheless tells a compelling story about self-discovery and the nature of mature love.

Candid, brave, and generous.

Kirkus Reviews