Failure Throwback: Glennon Doyle

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

Sony Music

Society & Culture

4.7 • 9.6K Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2025

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Author of Untamed and fierce truth-teller Glennon Doyle joins me for a raw and revelatory episode, first recorded in July 2020. We dive into: Why we chase approval instead of trusting our inner voice Her struggles with body image, love, and emotional resilience The failures that shaped her—from family breakdowns to learning self-protection Every moment is unscripted and packed with wisdom. No edits. No filters. Just Glennon, exactly as she is. Listen when you're ready for honesty that hits like a lightning bolt. ✨ IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 Intro 01:59 Glennon Doyle's Early Life and Struggles 02:11 The Journey to Sobriety 02:35 Meeting Abby Wambach and Life Transformation 03:01 The Impact of 'Untamed' and Pandemic Challenges 07:47 Writing 'Untamed' and Embracing Wildness 12:54 Personal Transformation 17:11 Redefining Success and Family Dynamics 35:52 Generational Differences and Parenting 36:38 A Mother's Transformation 38:04 Struggles with Thick Skin 38:58 Navigating Feedback as an Artist 51:10 The Scarcity Mindset Among Women 55:52 Body Image and Control 💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER: "If a cheetah can be tamed to forget who she is, so can a woman." "This life is mine alone, so I have stopped asking people for directions to places they’ve never been." "The point of being human is not to feel happy—it’s to feel everything." 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: Elizabeth’s upcoming one-off show at Cadogan Hall on 21 Sep for her new novel One of Us: ⁠https://www.fane.co.uk/elizabeth-day Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/ Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content 📚 WANT MORE? Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – On feminism, failure, and the power of storytelling to reshape identity: https://link.chtbl.com/wqGlGUPi Mo Gawdat – Former Google exec turned happiness expert, sharing his journey through grief and self-discovery: https://link.chtbl.com/fnA5IzTi 💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE? Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories 👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth: Instagram: @elizabday TikTok: @howtofailpod Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod Website: www.elizabethday.org Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/ Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to How to Fail, the podcast where we stop fearing failure and start talking about what it really
0:16.6	teaches us. I first recorded this very special episode when we were emerging from that deep, dark,
0:23.8	gloomy lockdown in July 2020. During the recording, I remember feeling like every sentence that
0:30.9	came out of Glennon Doyle's mouth was a total revelation. So I released the episode at full length
0:36.9	with no cuts because I wanted you, my
0:39.8	cherished listeners, to hear exactly how it happened. I had just read her now a multi-million
0:46.2	best-selling book Untamed and it had moved me and radically shifted how I thought about life.
0:53.6	So if you haven't had the opportunity yet to listen
0:56.1	to this incredible woman speak, I promise you, you're in for a superb treat. And if this is a
1:02.5	nostalgia trip for you, then please enjoy. Poppy's come to the end of her work visa.
1:13.7	She partied most nights and now can't afford her flight back to the UK.
1:16.9	Her parents are annoyed, but not too worried.
1:19.0	With their HSBC Premier bank account,
1:20.9	they can transfer money to her account abroad at HSBC UK's best exchange rates.
1:25.3	So more of their hard-earned cash actually reaches its destination.
1:28.7	Everything's Premier when your bank account is. Search HSBC Premier. HSP UK, opening up a world of
1:34.6	opportunity. Apply with £100,000 annual income or £100,000 savings or investments with HSBC UK or
1:40.0	Premier Status Broad. This episode is brought to you by M&S,
1:47.4	your destination for in-demand brands online.
1:50.5	Okay, so I've got some news to break to you that I think is going to make you stop in your tracks.
1:53.4	Did you know M&S sells brands?
1:57.8	Think Calvin Klein, sweaty Betty,
	...

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