Failure Throwback: Glennon Doyle

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

Sony Music

Society & Culture

4.8 • 9.4K Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2025

⏱️ 68 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 Share with someone exploring neurodiversity or recovering their voice 👋 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 [email protected] 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. Okay, a breaking news, because I absolutely have to tell you about my new TV obsession,
1:17.3	the Real Housewives of London, streaming from the 18th of August only on Hey You. It's going to be
1:24.1	the talk of the summer. Trust me, you are not going to want to miss it.
1:28.5	I have seen the trailer, I've got the BTS Goss, and let me tell you, if you're already a super
1:33.9	fan like me or a newbie, prepare to be totally hooked. You probably already know that I love
1:40.8	the Real Housewives franchise. My favourites are Atlanta, an old school New York.
1:45.2	Thanks so much for asking. And the Real Housewives of London is even more special as it's
1:50.6	HAU's first original series streaming every week. Why wait when you could join me and everyone else
1:57.5	talking about it now? Sign up for HAY You Now to start watching the Real Housewives of London
2:02.9	and see the drama unfold.
2:05.5	A subscription is required and you'll need to be 18 plus.
2:08.8	Hello there, everybody.
2:09.9	Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode here to tell you about EETV.
	...

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