Tiger in a Lifeboat

Discovering India, Deconstructing Faith, and Deciding to Trust Again

By: Lauren Cibene

Narrated by: Stephanie Breese

She lost the one thing she trusted—then found it in a world far from home.

After a devastating betrayal shattered her faith and her sense of self, writer Lauren Cibene found herself paralyzed by anxiety, borderline agoraphobia, and depression. Desperate for something—anything—to pull her back to life, she took a spontaneous leap: India. Cibene fled to escape the church that wanted to rush past the pain and get to the promise.

Amid the chaos of Delhi, the hush of Varanasi’s burning ghats, and the jungles of Chitwan, Cibene faced the weight of her past and the fear gripping her future. She fumbled with a sari in a dim hotel bathroom, feeling like an imposter in her own skin. She witnessed a wedding’s joyful cacophony, aching at the contrast between celebration and loss. She let the Ganges wash over her feet, wondering if renewal was truly possible.

Like Pi in Life of Pi, she found an unlikely survival companion—her own fierce, resilient spirit, a tigress waiting to be unleashed. Tiger in a Lifeboat is an intimate, immersive, and unflinchingly honest testament to the power of travel, self-trust in a world that takes it from you, and the slow but ultimately beautiful journey back to oneself.

©2025 Lauren Cibene (P)2025 Lauren Cibene

Hope and the Tiger

I have never wanted to travel to India or anywhere in Asia. I have never wanted to let the Tigress in my soul loose let alone face all the scary recesses of my trauma-bruised heart.

But Tiger in a Lifeboat by Lauren Cibene has made me reconsider.

Descriptions of difficulties with passports, hours of overland travel in vehicular death-traps, and the horrors of squatty-potties kept my prior opinions safely entrenched for a few chapters. But when I learned about the beauty of the Taj Mahal, the deliciousness of real Indian Chia, and observed Lauren Cibene’s transformation from broken victim to fierce survivor, I started to wonder if it should toss my judgments and head for the nearest airport.

Cibene didn’t waste time explaining how she became a walking panic attack waiting to happen. She focused on her journey of recovery, and her vivid vulnerability infused my broken world with her experience, strength and hope.

Do you want to know what it’s like to find new hope? Listen to Lauren Cibene’s story and discover your own inner tiger!

Beautifully crafted and rich in insight

I’ve read dozens of books this year in the faith expansion lane and this became a quick favorite of mine early on in the story.

Her writing is vivid and deep and the wisdom expressed in it touched my soul many times. Loved listening to her story and while the details differ greatly from my own experiences I saw myself in the descriptions of her inner world and the challenges of facing faith shifts and anxiety. Highly recommend!