In today’s episode, Betsy & Kate are honored to speak with New York Times best selling author of “A Well Trained Wife”, Tia Levings. After living the life of a trad wife for 13 years, Tia escaped at the age of 33 with her 4 children on the night her husband was ready to murder her. In the 19 years since her escape, she has been on a journey of healing, and coming home to herself as reflected in her newest book “I Belong to Me”.
In today’s episode we talk about:
- The 3 major chapters of Tia’s life: her childhood, her 13 years as a trad wife, and her recovery, healing, and speaking truth about the cult she escaped.
- Why her first 10 years potentially saved her life because it gave her a template of “self” before the high control conservative church began shaping her.
- Her second 10 years of life when her family moved to FL and joined a mega church.
- How her rule-following “good girl” mentality and the church’s promise of a “happy life” contributed to a life of obedience to a controlling, abusive husband.
- What life as an authentic trad wife really looked like vs what the trad life influencer movement suggests.
- How the death of her daughter 7 years before her escape was the first mental crack in the Christian Fundamentalist spell she had been under.
- The harrowing moment on Halloween night when she escaped with her 4 kids from a near murder-suicide in a run for their lives.
- How she slowly and gradually began to take herself back over the course of the last 15 years and which is at the heart of her latest book “I Belong to Me”.
Bio:
Tia Levings is the New York Times Bestselling author of A Well-Trained Wife, her memoir of escape from Christian Patriarchy. She writes about the realities of religious trauma, evangelical patriarchy, and the Trad wife life, decoding the fundamentalist influences in our news and culture. Her work and quotes have appeared in Teen Vogue, Salon, Newsweek, and the HuffingtonPost. She also appeared in the hit Amazon docu-series, Shiny Happy People. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, she is mom to four incredible adults and likes to travel, hike, paint, and daydream. Her second book, I Belong to Me, came out this past year is about her 15-year quest to psychological peace after religious trauma. Find out more at: https://tialevings.com
Other Tend Her Wild Episodes You Might Like:
Episode 222: From Survival to Aliveness with Sarah Entrup
Episode 210: Rosie Acosta: Balance – A Perimenopause Journey
Episode 204: Toxic Relationships: We’ve All Been There
Episode 172: Reverend Sarah Goettsch: Unapologetic
Episode 176: Carmen Serano: The Beauty Between the Breaks
Episode 164: Christina Woods: Unraveling to Heal
Episode 133: Domestic Abuse: Wisdom From a Survivor, Dr. Lauren Welter
Today’s Episode sponsored by:
Kate Moreland Coaching (https://www.
Dr Yoga Momma (https://dryogamomma.com/)
Heartland Yoga (https://heartlandyoga.com/)
Want to do coaching work with Kate or mind-body psychotherapy with Betsy?
Kate Moreland Coaching (https://www.
Dr Yoga Momma (https://dryogamomma.com/)
Want to join a 13-week Shadow Work Online Journey with Dr Betsy called Reclaim?
RECLAIM is a 13-week online program utilizing Depth Psychology and Yoga Philosophy to consciously wade into the unconscious mind to reclaim parts of self that we have ignored, lost, and pushed away. The darkest days of the year are the ideal time for shadow work. Although on the surface, this may seem scary or overwhelming, it is the work of our lifetime and a chance to become our truest and most authentic self.
This course sets out a roadmap of healing and reclamation of self through 5 phases
- The Rite of Passage – the sacred call to go in and down
- The Split – How, when, and why our true nature begins to splinter
- The Descent – Moving down to meet the Goddess as we journey through the 7 chakras
- The Reclamation – Taking back our essence
- The Return
Each week, we will explore these phases and learn the delicate art of integrating the masculine and feminine within using the tools of depth psychology, yoga, meditation, hypnosis, shadow work, inner child work, dream work, and group support.
The final outcome of creating a balanced inner feminine and inner masculine is a refined discernment that allows you to better see what serves your highest good, and what limits it.
It all begins November 24 and registration is open – all the details here.
Want to go on retreat?
Want to join Betsy in Mexico in February May 20-27, 2027 on retreat? This beautiful retreat center in the nourishing haven of Playa Chacala on the Pacific Ocean will the home for a week of deep self-care. Teaching retreat is one of Betsy’s favorite jobs as it gives her a chance to move into deeper realms with people over an extended period of time using the tools of yoga, meditation, hypnosis, energy work, and self-inquiry. People typically observe deep shifts and quantum leaps forward on such retreats. All the details here!
Want to join Betsy in Morocco in October 2027 on retreat? This small, curated experience in Marrakech will blend introspection and rest using the tools of yoga-psychology with cultural immersion and adventure as we tour markets, traditional Moroccan massage, and take a hot air balloon ride above the desert at sunset. All the details here!
Interested in our online Rewilding Course? It’s not too late to experience it!
We taught a 4-week live online rewilding course in July 2026 to 50+ women. It was an amazingly transformational container that allowed people to engage in 4 things.
- Understand the call we receive to rewild
- Unravel the conditioning that has kept us distance from our inner wild or essence
- Reclaim the parts of self that got splintered away over the years, including our bodies, creativity, intuition, emotions
- Commit to a rewilded life
If you would like to take this course on your own, join anytime. $199. All the details here: https://dryogamomma.com/
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