A Well-Trained Wife

My Escape from Christian Patriarchy

De: Tia Levings

Narrado por: Tia Levings

This gripping audiobook is a strong choice alongside books about high-demand religion, overcoming odds, and finding inner strength in impossible situations."—Booklist (Starred Review)

This program is read by the author.

“Today it hit me when he hit me, blood shaking in my brain. Maybe there wasn’t a savior coming. Maybe it was up to me to save me.”

Recruited into the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement as a young wife, Tia Levings learned that being a good Christian meant following a list of additional life principles—a series of secret, special rules to obey. Being a godly and submissive wife in Christian Patriarchy included strict discipline, isolation, and an alternative lifestyle that appeared wholesome to outsiders. Women were to be silent, “keepers of the home.”

Tia knew that to their neighbors her family was strange, but she also couldn't risk exposing their secret lifestyle to police, doctors, teachers, or anyone outside of their church. Christians were called in scripture to be “in the world, not of it.” So, she hid in plain sight as years of abuse and pain followed. When Tia realized she was the only one who could protect her children from becoming the next generation of patriarchal men and submissive women, she began to resist and question how they lived. But in the patriarchy, a woman with opinions is in danger, and eventually, Tia faced an urgent and extreme choice: stay and face dire consequences, or flee with her children.

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2024 Tia Levings (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“In this brave memoir on domestic violence within Christian patriarchy, Tia Levings vulnerably shares her story of survival. With devastating detail, she reveals the many shades of abuse that happen within the world of evangelicalism, a world that was supposed to protect her. The many women who have walked this path from oppression to freedom will find solidarity in these pages.”—Cait West, author of Rift

"I've never given a book a standing ovation until this one. A Well-Trained Wife is a prayer, for all of us. The world is lucky Tia Levings found her freedom and her voice. A reckoning for those who sanction abuse in the name of salvation."—Ashleigh Renard, author of Swing

"With unflinching honesty and relentless self-reflection, Levings’ debut memoir is a portrait in courage."—Julie Bogart, author of The Brave Learner and Raising Critical Thinkers

Written as a novel

The author is an amazing storyteller. Able to create vivid scenes in the reader’s mind

Breathtaking

So beautifully written and well-paced I finished it all in one day. Having Levings as the narrator was an unexpected treat. Even though this is her story, the book somehow felt like a tender love letter to grieving women, especially those who escaped fundamentalism.

Brave, Strong and all too familiar story

Tia has a superior ability to convey her journey in perfect words that compel you to be present in the moment. It’s painful, hopeful and thought provoking. So many women in similar situations have not found their true voice. Thank you, Tia for saying what so many women cannot.

An amazing true story of courage

Tia narrates her own story and it's absolutely amazing. She is obviously a woman who has gone thru major therapy and self-reflection in order to get to this point. Listening to her narrate her own story is a must. She survived religious brain washing and an unbelievable amount of abuse, but she came thru it to save not only her children, but herself. Her story is wonderfully written and perfectly narrated.

Riveting and relevant from start to finish.

Having spent 25 years in a high control organization, I have been on a path of healing since October of last year. Watching the documentary, Shiny Happy People and the similarities in the teachings they followed and in what my family was a part of, was one of the crucial points of helping me wake up, ask necessary questions and finally start to break free.
Tia’s ability to articulate her story is unique, she is an extremely gifted writer. I believe this book is timely and is going to help expose what has been in the dark for far too long . I also believe that it will be instrumental in many others finding freedom.
Her writing is so raw and intimate I feel as though I have also found both a friend and an advocate just by listening to her story. I am confident that network of us that have these shared experiences will only continue to grow. Grateful for the work Tia did to write this masterpiece.

Travel Guide

Tia put words to the experience so many of us have lived in the shadows. I am fresh in my freedom and deeply appreciate the sharing of each lie that was embraced and how she has recognized and replaced.
I, too, am grieved by my own complicity in the grander narrative of fundamentalism. And the grief of what that life cost me and my children has yet to be fully counted. It is by seasons and degrees that I am able to name and feel. I appreciate Tia’s honesty and helping others to find the words.

A Beautiful Telling of a Heartbreaking Reality

Tia told her story in a way that was as beautifully told as it was heartbreaking to hear. Her strength is as incredible as her honesty. It is a must listen as hearing the story in her own voice makes it even more powerful.

Tia's resilience, bravery and unstoppable spirit.

Tia's story is sad yet empowering that she broke free from abusive relationships: marriage as well as within faith communities. My heart wept as I listened to her brutal marital rape narrative requiring doctor's visit. Her fortitude is commendable and her actions to write, stand on two feet and be self sufficient is amazing. Tia is strong, courageous and a badass of a woman. Thank you, Tia, for telling your story. May it empower other women to break free too.

Intimate and honest

I love the way you spoke your truth! Your experience was, in many ways similar to mine. Thank you for so eloquently sharing your story. You are going to help countless women who find themselves in the same boat.

A story of an amazing woman who lived project 2025

Tia’s story is as powerful as it is terrifying. By the end she has shown how this is not an isolated story, but a systematic issue through so many churches, and even how it’s affecting our politics in the United States. I highly recommend this as a book to learn how beliefs affect every day life for many in Christian circles. It’s a great, and painful look at what they feel is an ideal marriage.
The last part of the book with her healing journey is beautiful and a great look at trauma therapy. Each journey is different, but Tia does a great job at explaining things.
Through the whole book, her descriptions make you understand and feel what she was thinking, and feeling. They are powerful while being beautiful and inspiring in moments, and the fuel of nightmares in others. Really great book.