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Glennon Doyle Recommends: 8 Inspiring Reads for the New Year

January 13 2021
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Glennon Doyle rose to authorial fame with her poignant debut Carry On, Warrior, which cemented her place as a pivotal role model for anyone searching for community, change, and motivation in their lives. She’s continued on that track with Love Warrior and her latest, Untamed. Being such a guiding light, it’s safe to assume that the books Glennon raves about are guaranteed to offer up an empowering message of self-love and happiness. To inspire you to embrace hope and transformation in this new year, we’ve rounded up reads that Glennon Doyle recommends. Enjoy!

Believe IT
by Jamie Kern Lima

“Game-changing. Authentic. A must-read for every woman! Jamie is the real deal—and that’s rare.” —Glennon Doyle

In BELIEVE IT, Jamie Kern Lima, founder of IT Cosmetics, shares the wild but true story of how a once struggling waitress turned her against-the-grain idea into an international bestselling sensation, eventually selling the company for over a billion dollars and becoming the first female CEO of a brand in L’Oréal’s 100+ year history. Jamie reveals for the first time what really went down, how she almost didn’t make it, how she learned to trust herself, and the powerful lessons you, too, can use to go from underestimated to unstoppable.

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Believe IT
Jamie Kern Lima

ARE YOU READY TO BELIEVE IN YOU?

Game-changing. Authentic. A must-read for every woman! Jamie is the real deal—and that’s rare.” —Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Untamed

“Raw. Real. Powerful. Filled with vulnerability and grit. This book will inspire you to believe in your own power. It’s a book every woman needs!” —Sara Blakely, Founder Spanx

Imagine overcoming the things holding you back, breaking through the barrier of self-doubt and fully becoming the person YOU were BORN TO BE!

In Believe IT, Jamie Kern Lima, founder of IT Cosmetics, shares the wild but true story of how a once struggling waitress turned her against-the-grain idea into an international bestselling sensation, eventually selling the company for over a billion dollars and becoming the first female CEO of a brand in L’Oréal’s 100+ year history. Faced with self-doubt, body-doubt, God-doubt, down to her last few dollars and told “No one is going to buy makeup from someone who has your body,” Jamie reveals for the first time what really went down, how she almost didn’t make it, how she learned to trust herself, and the powerful lessons you, too, can use to go from underestimated to unstoppable.

With radical vulnerability and honesty, Jamie takes you on a journey through deeply personal stories of heartbreak and resilience—including accidentally finding out she was adopted when she was in her twenties and the reverberations this has had on all aspects of her life. Jamie also pulls back the curtain on her fight to change the beauty industry’s use of unrealistic images, on behalf of all the little girls who are about to start doubting themselves, and all of the grown women who still do. Spellbinding, riveting, with raw vulnerability and down-to-earth warmth, Believe IT shakes your soul and shows you that you, too, have what it takes to believe in yourself, trust yourself, and go from doubting you’re enough to knowing you’re enough! Do you have big goals, hopes, and dreams but let rejection get in the way? Do you struggle with feeling like you’re not enough and like success is something that happens to other people, but have a hard time believing it’s possible for you? Do you let past mistakes and failures hold you back? Do you know deep down inside that you were created for more, but somehow still doubt yourself?

In Believe IT you’ll discover how to...
-Overcome self-doubt
-Gain the courage to take risks, an empower yourself and others
-Tune into and trust your own intuition
-Let go of your mistakes and insecurities
-Turn down the volume on your inner critic
-Handle the rejection, the haters, and the mean girls
-Boost your confidence
-Start your dream (and keep going!)
-And much more…

If you’ve ever doubted yourself or felt truly underestimated, this book will inspire a new kind of belief and confidence in you and your dreams!

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Glennon Doyle Recommends: 8 Inspiring Reads for the New Year

By Off the Shelf Staff | January 13, 2021

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To Love and Let Go
by Rachel Brathen

“Rachel beautifully illustrates that loving fiercely and grieving deeply are often two halves of the same whole. Her story will break you down and lift you up.” —Glennon Doyle

Author Rachel Brathen is the founder of the Yoga Girl movement, which focuses on mediation and healing through yoga, but her memoir tells a story of the tragic events that got her to where she is now. Afflicted with grief after her best friend Andrea died in a car accident, Rachel’s past traumas resurfaced and she found herself faced with trials that threaten to wreck her. But when she learns that she’s pregnant, she embarks on the tough journey of transformation. This memoir offers her words of wisdom about loss and love, motherhood and friendship, and how to love and let go. 

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To Love and Let Go
Rachel Brathen

“Rachel beautifully illustrates that loving fiercely and grieving deeply are often two halves of the same whole. Her story will break you down and lift you up.” —Glennon Doyle, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Love Warrior and founder of Together Rising

While on her way to teach a yoga retreat in March 2014, Rachel Brathen collapses at an airport, brought to her knees by excruciating stomach pains. She is rushed to the hospital on the tiny island of Bonaire, and hours later forced to undergo surgery. When she wakes up from anesthesia, her boyfriend is weeping at her bedside. While Rachel was struck down with seemingly mysterious pain, her best friend, Andrea, sustained fatal injuries as a result of a car accident. Rachel and Andrea had a magical friendship. Though they looked nothing alike—one girl tall, blond, and Swedish, the other short, brunette, and Colombian—everyone called them gemelas: twins.

Over the three years following Andrea’s death, at what might appear from the outside to be the happiest time—with her engagement to the man she loves and a blossoming career that takes her all over the world—Rachel faces a series of trials that have the potential to define her life. Unresolved grief and trauma from her childhood make the weight of her sadness unbearable. At each turn, she is confronted again and again with a choice: Will she lose it all, succumb to grief, and grasp for control that’s beyond her reach? Or can she move through the loss and let go?

When Rachel and her husband conceive a child, pregnancy becomes a time to heal and an opportunity to be reborn herself. As she recounts this transformative period, Rachel shares her hard-won wisdom about life and death, love and fear, what it means to be a mother and a daughter, and how to become someone who walks through the fire of adversity with the never-ending practice of loving hard and letting go.

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Glennon Doyle Recommends: 8 Inspiring Reads for the New Year

By Off the Shelf Staff | January 13, 2021

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There I Am
by Ruthie Lindsey

“Ruthie Lindsey’s voice speaks directly to the heart. THERE I AM is a testament to the things that break us, heal us, and make us who we are.” —Glennon Doyle

At 17 years old, Ruthie Lindsey was struck by an ambulance and given a five percent chance of survival and one percent chance of walking again. After a spinal fusion surgery, Ruthie defied the odds, and was able to walk again, but chronic pain plagued her every moment. Bedridden, dependent on painkillers, and hopeless, she learned that she needed expensive experimental surgery, or she could become paralyzed. As her life unravels, Ruthie feels lost and returns home to Louisiana to try and find her joy again. Her process of healing, hard work, and the magic of optimism is an inspiring message to hold close in the new year.

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There I Am
Ruthie Lindsey

“Moving, heartfelt, and truly inspiring. A great book to read right now.” —Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things

“Ruthie is a gifted storyteller with the unique ability to make you feel her emotions as if they're your own. Her book is somehow both bold and tender and utterly, truthfully, authentically her. She doesn't hide from heartbreak or fail to experience the fullness of all the beauty life can hold.” —Rachel Hollis, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Girl, Wash Your Face and Girl, Stop Apologizing

Brain on Fire meets Carry On, Warrior, There I Am is an arresting inspirational memoir about one woman’s journey from chronic pain and hopelessness to finding joy, redemption, and healing.

At seventeen years old, Ruthie Lindsey is hit by an ambulance near her home in rural Louisiana. She’s given a five percent chance of survival and one percent chance of walking again. One month later after a spinal fusion surgery, Ruthie defies the odds, leaving the hospital on her own two feet.

Just a few years later, newly married and living in Nashville, Ruthie begins to experience debilitating pain. Her case confounds doctors and after numerous rounds of testing, imaging, and treatment, they prescribe narcotic painkillers—lots of them. Ruthie has become bedridden, dependent on painkillers, and hopeless, when an X-ray reveals that the wire used to fuse her spine is piercing her brain stem. Without another staggeringly expensive experimental surgery, she could well become paralyzed, but in many ways, she already is.

Ruthie goes into the hospital in chronic pain, dependent on prescription painkillers, and leaves that way. She can still walk, but has no idea where she’s going. As her life unravels, Ruthie returns home to Louisiana and sets out on a journey to learn joy again. She trades fentanyl for sunsets and morphine for wildflowers, weaning herself off of the drugs and beginning the process of healing—of coming home to her body.

Raw and redemptive, There I Am is not just about the magic of optimism, but the work of it. Ruthie’s extraordinary memoir urges us to unlearn the stories of brokenness that we tell ourselves and embrace the wholeness, joy, and healing that lives inside all of us.

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Glennon Doyle Recommends: 8 Inspiring Reads for the New Year

By Off the Shelf Staff | January 13, 2021

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You Deserve the Truth
by Erica Williams Simon

"In this beautifully written, smart and soulful book, Erica Williams Simon gives us what we all need more of: The knowing that life, at its best, is more about wonder than certainty. With YOU DESERVE THE TRUTH, Erica invites us beyond the old stories we've been told about ourselves, and into the wonder of our dreams, hopes and love—so we can find our truth and purpose there." –Glennon Doyle

At 27, Erica Williams Simon began to look critically at the exhausting and disillusioning effects of social media, and saw a recipe for disaster. She abruptly left a high-profile political media career and set out to reshape her life, confronting cultural norms that we all blindly follow. Filled with her personal anecdotes as well as empowering advice, YOU DESERVE THE TRUTH asks readers to confront their fears, identities, and definitions of success, and includes important lessons for everyone in this digital new world.  

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You Deserve the Truth
Erica Williams Simon

From a millennial media maker and award-winning social critic, an accessible, straightforward, and remarkable guide that “invites us beyond the old stories we’ve told about ourselves, and into the wonder of our dreams, hopes, and love—so we can find our truth and purpose” (Glennon Doyle, New York Times bestselling author) for a generation paralyzed by the pressures of life.

Behind the glossy Instagram pictures, many people in their 20s and 30s are living frustrating lives: overwhelmed and confused, anxious and inauthentic, exhausted and afraid. They are leading lives that, unbeknownst to them, have been shaped by everyone but themselves. From social media to the workplace, the stories that they have believed have left them constantly seeking a better life but rarely ever finding it.

Erica Williams Simon saw this all too well. At 27, she abruptly walked away from her career as a rising political media star to find her own truth and a truth that would help others finally build a life worth living. She rejected the lies that the world had taught her, and rewrote the ideas that have the power to shape a generation.

You Deserve the Truth is a “refreshingly blunt take on happiness” (Publishers Weekly) and is a masterclass in how to challenge the narratives about fear, work, identity, success, love, and life. This “smart and all too real guidebook for anyone striving to craft an authentic and inspired life from the ground up” (Franchesca Ramsey, host of MTV’s Decoded) gives you the tools you need in order to break free from the narratives holding you back from starting an exciting new phase in a beautiful life.

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Glennon Doyle Recommends: 8 Inspiring Reads for the New Year

By Off the Shelf Staff | January 13, 2021

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Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies
by Tara Schuster

“You’re going to want Tara Schuster to become your new best friend.”—Glennon Doyle

Tara Schuster was the definition of success. A top TV executive who worked for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, she seemed to have her life all under control, but was in reality drowning in anxiety and self-medication. The task for transforming her self-love seemed daunting, but once Tara began performing small daily rituals, the results were grand and life changing. Filled with hysterically honest tips and empowering advice, this book is in some ways a parenting guide—one that teaches grown-ups how to grow up again.

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Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies
Tara Schuster

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Glennon Doyle Recommends: 8 Inspiring Reads for the New Year

By Off the Shelf Staff | January 13, 2021

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The Purpose of Power
by Alicia Garza

“This book has expanded my mind, my heart, my understanding, my conviction and my respect for Alicia Garza—organizer, political strategist, co-creator of #BlackLivesMatter and a damn American Hero.” —Glennon Doyle

Before she was the co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter, Alicia Garza learned many lessons through personal successes, failures, and historical research that helped her develop her skills as a leading organizer. Over twenty years, she gathered the knowledge and resources that taught her how to organize a movement to make change and reach a nation’s heart. She studied how the earlier generations of civil rights activists fought for freedoms, and offers advice on how to change or build upon those movements in our current era. In THE PURPOSE OF POWER, she reflects on some of the best ways to engage with people who are at different levels in the activism journey in order to help them unleash that desire for change.

 
 
 
 
 
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The Purpose of Power
Alicia Garza

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Glennon Doyle Recommends: 8 Inspiring Reads for the New Year

By Off the Shelf Staff | January 13, 2021

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Keep Moving
by Maggie Smith

"KEEP MOVING speaks to you like an encouraging friend reminding you that you can feel and survive deep loss, sink into life’s deep beauty, and constantly, constantly make yourself new." –Glennon Doyle

Author Maggie Smith used daily inspirational Twitter posts to help her through tough times—and they went viral. Now the same heartwarming sentiments that helped so many people through hardships online are collected here in quotes and essays. For fans of Anne Lamott and Cleo Wade, KEEP MOVING shows how to take loss and turn it into an opportunity for change. It also explores how to use creativity and courage to tackle life’s challenges.

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Keep Moving
Maggie Smith

USA TODAY BESTSELLER

“A meditation on kindness and hope, and how to move forward through grief.” —NPR

“A shining reminder to learn all we can from this moment, rebuilding ourselves in the darkness so that we may come out wiser, kinder, and stronger on the other side.” —The Boston Globe

“Powerful essays on loss, endurance, and renewal.”People

Cosmopolitan’s “Best Nonfiction Books of 2020”
Marie Claire’s “2020 Books You Should Pre-Order Now”
Parade’s “25 Self-Help Books To Get Your 2020 Off On The Right Foot”
The Washington Post’s “What to Read in 2020 Based on the Books You Loved in 2019”

For fans of Anne Lamott and Cleo Wade, a collection of quotes and essays on facing life’s challenges with creativity, courage, and resilience.

When Maggie Smith, the award-winning author of the viral poem “Good Bones,” started writing inspirational daily Twitter posts in the wake of her divorce, they unexpectedly caught fire. In this deeply moving book of quotes and essays, Maggie writes about new beginnings as opportunities for transformation. Like kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken ceramics with gold, Keep Moving celebrates the beauty and strength on the other side of loss. This is a book for anyone who has gone through a difficult time and is wondering: What comes next?

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Conversations with People Who Hate Me
by Dylan Marron

“I read CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE WHO HATE ME in one sitting—hoping that Dylan Marron’s wisdom, sincerity, and hilarity might help me believe again in the potential goodness of the internet. It worked. I believe! Dylan Marron is the internet’s Love Warrior. His work is fresh, deeply honest, wildly creative, and right on time.” –Glennon Doyle

​​From the host of the award-winning, critically acclaimed podcast Conversations with People Who Hate Me comes a thought-provoking, witty, and inspirational exploration of difficult conversations and how to navigate them.

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Conversations with People Who Hate Me
Dylan Marron

“Dylan Marron is the internet’s Love Warrior. His work is fresh, deeply honest, wildly creative, and right on time.” —Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Dylan Marron is like a modern Mister Rogers for the digital age.” —Jason Sudeikis

​From the host of the award-winning, critically acclaimed podcast Conversations with People Who Hate Me comes a thought-provoking, witty, and inspirational exploration of difficult conversations and how to navigate them.

Dylan Marron’s work has racked up millions of views and worldwide support. From his acclaimed Every Single Word video series highlighting the lack of diversity in Hollywood to his web series Sitting in Bathrooms with Trans People, Marron has explored some of today’s biggest social issues.

Yet, according to some strangers on the internet, Marron is a “moron,” a “beta male,” and a “talentless hack.” Rather than running from this online vitriol, Marron began a social experiment in which he invited his detractors to chat with him on the phone—and those conversations revealed surprising and fascinating insights.

Now, Marron retraces his journey through a project that connects adversarial strangers in a time of unprecedented division. After years of production and dozens of phone calls, he shares what he’s learned about having difficult conversations and how having them can help close the ever-growing distance between us.

Charmingly candid and refreshingly hopeful, Conversations with People Who Hate Me will serve as both a guide to anyone partaking in dif­ficult conversations and a permission slip for those who dare to believe that connection is possible.

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Glennon Doyle Recommends: 8 Inspiring Reads for the New Year

By Off the Shelf Staff | January 13, 2021

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