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Oprah Winfrey to Adapt Glennon Doyle’s LOVE WARRIOR for the Big Screen

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Ashlie Swicker

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Ashlie (she/her) is an educator, librarian, and writer. She is committed to diversifying the reading lives of her students and supporting fat acceptance as it intersects with other women’s issues. She's also perpetually striving to learn more about how she can use her many privileges to support marginalized groups. Interests include learning how to roller skate with her local roller derby team, buying more books than she'll ever read, hiking with her husband and sons, and making lists to avoid real work. You can find her on Instagram (@ashlieelizabeth), Twitter (@mygirlsimple) or at her website, www.ashlieswicker.com.

Glennon Doyle revealed today via Instagram that her bestselling memoir, Love Warrior is going to be a movie. The screenplay, written by Marissa Jo Cerar, will be produced by Harpo Films, Oprah Winfrey’s production company, and has apparently been in the works for two years.

View this post on Instagram

I have some big news for us. Oprah is turning Love Warrior into a movie. Two years ago, Oprah invited Sister and me to her home. We sat together on a balcony overlooking her backyard and talked about life and work and this community and Together Rising. She said: Your ministry is the same as mine. It’s the ministry of 'me, too.' It’s making people feel less alone. Yes, I said. Then she said, Let’s talk about Love Warrior. As I read your book, it unfolded in front of me like a movie. I saw the characters and scenes in my mind as I turned the pages. Yes, I said. It unfolded in front of me like a movie as I wrote the pages. And she smiled and said: Would you like to turn it into a movie together? Yes, please, I said. What actor do you want to play you? I was quiet for so long that I could tell Sister was getting worried. I finally said: I’m sorry. I can’t, at the moment, think of any actors or even remember what the word actor means, really. I seem to have forgotten all of my words. I can’t think of any words. All right, then. Oprah said. Want to see my garden? Yes, please. I said. Love Warrior is, at the heart of it, a story about a woman’s life. I always knew that if it became a movie, the screenplay had to be written by a woman, the producers had to be women – and I dreamt the boss of the project would be THE WOMAN. I am telling you, to feel safe putting my scariest, most intimate truth onto the big screen, it had to be Ms. Winfrey or nobody. Here we are, two years later. I’ve got the gorgeous screenplay in my lap. I’ve read it forty times. HARPO Films and Marissa Jo Cerar found a way to do with this script what I tried so hard to do with Love Warrior. It’s a story about my life, but really, it’s a story about all of us. It’s going to make women everywhere sit in their seats, breathe deeply and say: 'me, too.' Okay now seriously we need your help. WHO SHOULD PLAY ME AND SISTER? All ideas welcome. Please advise. All I know for sure is Zeke from Parenthood. Zeke is the only guy more Bubba than Bubba. Grateful, Nervous, Excited, Relentlessly Hopeful. G #LoveWarrior

A post shared by Glennon Doyle (@glennondoyle) on

Doyle, founder of the The Momestary and creator/president of the nonprofit Together Rising, is known for her raw, vulnerable work both as a speaker and writer. In Love Warrior, Doyle details the process of working with her husband on their damaged marriage. In her post, Doyle shares details of the meeting with Winfrey for initial talks about the project, and mentions that the film will “make women everywhere sit in their seats, breathe deeply and say: ‘me, too.‘”

Also in the Instagram post, Doyle asks for suggestions as to who should play herself and her sister, referred to as Sister in her writings. Fans have suggested a range of names including Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner, and Kristen Bell, with several voting for an unknown actress to bring the story to life. No official casting decisions have been made.