Glennon Doyle (born March 20, 1976) is an American author and queer activist known for her books Untamed,Love Warrior, and Carry On, Warrior.[1][2] Doyle is also the creator of the online community Momastery,[3] and is the founder and president of Together Rising,[4] an all-women-led nonprofit organization supporting women, families, and children in crisis.[1][5]
Early life and education
Doyle was born in
Burke,
Virginia, and was raised with one sister, Amanda Doyle.[6] She writes and speaks frequently about early struggles with
bulimia and
addiction. In her 2013
TEDx talk "Lessons from the Mental Hospital",[7] she discusses time spent in a mental hospital when she was a teenager. She completed her
Bachelor of Arts degree at
James Madison University in 1999.[8] Following graduation, she became a teacher in
Northern Virginia.[9]
Career
In 2009, Doyle began writing online with her blog Momastery as a way to share "a look at her life as a progressive Christian raising three children."[10] This was the start of her writing career and led to her first book, a memoir titled Carry On, Warrior, in 2013.[1] This book unifies faith with themes of honesty and authenticity, but her subsequent writings shift further away from having a core religious focus.[11][12]
In 2016, a follow-up memoir, Love Warrior was released. In September 2016, it was selected to be a part of
Oprah's Book Club 2.0.[13]
A third memoir, Untamed, was published in 2020.[14] In April 2020, the book was selected to be a part of
Reese Witherspoon's Reese's Book Club (Hello Sunshine • Book Club).[15][16]
Untamed has sold more than two million copies as of February 2021.[10] A television series based on Untamed is being developed by
J. J. Abrams's production company,[17] with
Sarah Paulson expected to be the lead.[18] Sarah Paulson was the only actress to audition for the role, and Doyle said Paulson is the perfect actress to play her because she is "somebody who is a transformational actor, who is in touch with the world and involved in everything we care about, and who is queer".[19]
In May 2021, Doyle launched a podcast titled We Can Do Hard Things. This podcast stars Doyle's wife,
Abby Wambach, and sister, Amanda.[20] It carries similar themes to Untamed.[20]
Doyle has also made several appearances on the Together Live Tour, created by
Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. The Together Live Tour is a storytelling event aimed at connecting communities and helping each other find purpose.[21] Doyle has appeared on this tour alongside Latham Thomas,
Connie Britton, and
Sophia Bush.[22]
Awards and recognition
In 2014, Parents named Doyle and Momastery the winner of its award for Best All-Around at Social Media.[23] In 2021, Doyle was included in the
Fast Company Queer 50 list.[24]
Doyle founded Together Rising, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, with an effective date of May 25, 2012.[33] As of December 2020, Together Rising has raised over $25 million for people in need.[34] Together Rising exists to "transform collective heartbreak into effective action." Most of Together Rising's funds are raised through time-limited crowd-sourced fund-raisers in which contributors are limited to giving a maximum of $25 to meet a particular need.[35] This strategy is designed to build community, to enable people from all income groups to be able to donate ("democratize the giving"), and overcome indecision about how much to give.[36]
Doyle was married to Craig Melton, a former model, until 2016;[38] and they have three children. The family moved from Centreville, Virginia, to Naples, Florida.[39]
Doyle met
Abby Wambach on a book tour.[40][6] In November 2016, Doyle announced that she was in a relationship with Wambach;[41] they married on May 14, 2017.[42] They moved to
Hermosa Beach, California, in 2021, purchasing a $6.5 million home.[43][44]
Doyle, Wambach, and Melton co-parent the three children and Doyle states that they all have family dinners together.[45]