Tia Levings
Tia Levings
Tia Levings writes and speaks about the realities in Christian fundamentalism, evangelical patriarchy, and religious trauma. She translates the influence of high-control religion in American politics, culture, and news. She addresses the impact it has on victims and survivors, and what we can do to help them deconstruct and heal. Her commentary and warm, down-to-earth explainer videos online receive millions of views. Tia is a frequent podcast guest on shows that discuss faith deconstruction, spiritual abuse, and church-sanctioned domestic abuse, including We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle, and the MeidasTouch Weekend Show with Anthony Davis. In addition, she is a source for investigative journalists who need the real-life perspective from what it’s like inside the trad-wife, “fundie baby” voiced, Christian patriarchy. Her work appears in Teen Vogue, the Huffington Post, and she’s been quoted in Salon, the Washington Post, New York Times, and Newsweek. Tia also appeared in the hit Amazon docuseries, Shiny Happy People, season 1.
Tia’s approach is engaging, conversational, and relatable. She focuses on how we can better connect as humans to move our culture forward. This includes brutal honesty, gusty humor, and an unflinching willingness to say what needs to be said—but gently and kindly when possible. Language, art, understanding, and conversation connect us as humans, and connection heals society.
Based in North Carolina, Tia Levings is mom to four incredible adults. She likes to travel, hike, paint, and daydream. Find her on social media and Substack @TiaLevingsWriter. Her NYT bestselling memoir, A Well-Trained Wife is available anywhere books are sold, and I Belong to Me: A Survivor’s Guide to Recovery and Hope after Religious Trauma releases in May, 2026.
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Hardcover
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What does it mean to heal from trauma caused by the people, beliefs, and practices of your faith? And to rebuild a sense of self, when high-control religion said you shouldn’t have one?
Indoctrinated from early childhood to obey, conform, and want what others wanted for her, Tia Levings learned love and acceptance meant being someone ot...Read More
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Hardcover
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Told in a beautiful, honest, and sometimes harrowing voice, A Well-Trained Wife is an unforgettable and timely memoir about a woman's race to save herself and her family and details the ways that extreme views can manifest in a marriage....Read More
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More Than Running Away
Tia’s story in and out of high control religion and church-sanctioned domestic abuse is a story of how she broke free. But the real journey to resist fundamentalism began after she got out, and its one everyone living in a culture under the influence of Christian Patriarchy faces. How can we avoid the frog’s fate in the slowly boiling pot? The answer is more colorful and creative than you might think. (Ties in her second book as well, The Soul of Healing.)
Why is America Aging Backwards?
The Christian Patriarchy wants to run America the way they run their homes. And through big initiatives like Project 25, patient and well-funded super PACs, a stacked conservative Supreme Court, and cultural movements like the “trad wives” they’re making strides. If it sounds like the world of the puritans and founding fathers, it is. This talk discusses what it’s really like to live behind closed doors in a patriarchal home, why it’s so threatened by science and progress, and what the average concerned citizen can do to keep our society moving forward.
Educating Girls Is Unnecessary
Tia’s background in the Quiverful Patriarchy glorified the practice of having as many children as possible, forbidding contraception, family planning, or arguments against the ideology. But unlimited children is a holistic burden on women. How can a woman possibly take care of so many children? The answer is a long list of ordinary parenting practices fundamentalists skip in order to raise an army for God. At the top of the list is the deliberate education neglect for girls, parentifying them as helpers and grooming the next generation of submissive wives. Why? To bring America back to traditional gender roles where women stay home and raise children, while the men vote, work, and lead. Understanding the strategy sheds light on changing legislation, culture wars online like the “trad wife” movement, and why there are a growing number of religious trauma survivors citing neglect and abuse in the evangelical Christian Patriarchy.
The Mother I Wanted to Be
Realizing that if Tia stayed in abusive fundamentalism she’d be raising the next generation of abusers and victims propelled her to leave, and when she did, she joined the ranks of parents hoping to break generational cycles and patterns to raise healthier children. Coercive high-control authoritarian parenting receives praise in our culture, despite the evidence of trauma and broken relationships. This talk explains some of the popular influences that make it hard for parents to make changes, and Tia share the practical steps she had to take to raise children outside of fundamentalism.
“How Many Trad Wives Spread Christian Nationalism and Helped Elect Donald Trump”
“Trad Wife Cults: How Tia Levings Escaped (Pt 1)”
“How to Know if You’re in a Cult with Tia Levings (Pt. 2)”
“Why Some of Us Have to Secretly Vote for Kamala”
“From Blog to Book: How the Digital World Can Launch a Writer”
“Writers to Watch: 10 Noteworthy Nonfiction Debuts, Fall 2024”
“Wife reveals dark underbelly of being in a deeply conservative Christian marriage”
“A harrowing memoir that tradwife fans need to read”
“‘Tradwife’ Content Isn’t Really for Women. It’s for Men Who Want Submissive Wives.”
“Fleeing Christian patriarchy: ‘They raise women who don’t even know the sound of their voices'”
“Tradwife Content Offers Fundamentalism Fit for Instagram”
“‘Fundie Baby Voice’ Seems To Be Everywhere Now. Here’s What You Should Know.”
Videos on the inside of Christian Fundamentalism, organized by topic
Tia’s hope is to create content that educates, promotes trauma healing, and supports those who have loved ones in fundamentalism.
“I supported your work because you speak truth to power and I don’t want you silenced. I want you louder. Also you are a gifted speaker and I enjoy listening to your reels.”
— Suzanne“I am a mental health clinician and I see at times the fallout of women living under patriarchal/complementarian Christian teachings. I very much appreciate the work that you’re doing.”
— Meg“Your work is critically important and I hope that with support you can continue and expand your impact. Thank you so much for using your knowledge and experience to educate but to also overcome your trauma to speak up now when we desperately need your voice in this country.”
— P. Ranger-Moore“Thank you for continuing to speak out. The voices of survivors are so important.”
— Sarah“I support your work because I deeply admire your vocal and visible deconstruction of patriarchy. The times now and ahead are ominous. Your voice is invaluable. I’m an editor for ICSA Today, and we have plans to review your book for an upcoming issue of our magazine. I look forward to reading The Well-Trained Wife.”
— L. LynchPraise for The Well-Trained Wife
“Searing…Levings’s visceral prose holds nothing back, and her efforts to let go of the patriarchal beliefs of her youth fascinate. This stands out among the rising tide of memoirs from those who’ve left the evangelical church.”
— Publishers Weekly“This book stands out among other narratives about overcoming religious trauma in that it peels back the layers of Christian fundamentalism, exposing why it’s so attractive to people hungry for assurance and certainty. A devastatingly triumphant story that will be a beacon for many women who suffer in silence.”
— Kirkus, (Starred Review)“Rebellious and riveting—A Well Trained Wife is a rare gem of a journey from horrific abuse to victorious healing. Not many survivors are willing to lift the veil of shame that shrouds most stories of domestic and cultic abuse. Private and painful, this important memoir will shine light on the darkest crimes within the religious patriarchy with hope for the future – A triumph for all survivors.”
— Sarah Edmondson, author of Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult That Bound My Life and host of A Little Bit Culty podcastBook This Speaker
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