A Well-Trained Wife My Escape from Christian Patriarchy

Such a great book, honestly. This story is heartbreaking, moving and shocking. It left me in absolute awe of the author - Tia Levings. In the book she recounts her experiences first as a teenager, and later as a young adult – wife and mother – in the framework of a strict fundamentalist religious household. Following the religious teachings and traditions she had to spend years trying to submit to her husband, being under constant control and suffering emotional as well as physical abuse. She had to give up her education, her dreams, personal opinions and even political rights to fit in. Even though breaking out of this situation, saving herself and her children set her free, Tia doesn’t shy away from the reality of her trauma and losses. Distancing herself from her abusive husband and religion didn’t heal her wounds. She had to work on herself a lot to regain control of her life, stop trying to please people around her undermining herself in the process and come to terms with her losses. I listened to audiobook narrated by Tia herself and it made the whole experience even better. I can’t recommend this book enough.