Tia Levings
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 Christian fundamentalism, evangelical patriarchy, and religious trauma. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Salon, the Huffington Post, and Newsweek. She also appeared in the hit Amazon docu-series, Shiny Happy People. Based in North Carolina, she is mom to four incredible adults and likes to travel, hike, paint, and daydream. Find her on social media @TiaLevingsWriter. Her second book, The Soul of Healing, releases with St. Martin’s Essentials in 2026.
In this compelling WMC Talks conversation between Soraya Chemaly and author Tia Levings, Tia reflects on her journey escaping a high-control religious patriarchal system and connects her personal story to broader political and cultural dynamics shaping the U.S. today . Through discussion of her memoir The Well-Trained Wife and her upcoming book I Belong To Me, she explores themes of autonomy, trauma, and identity, while unpacking how systems of control, gender roles, and “trad wife” culture intersect with rising authoritarianism. The conversation offers a powerful lens on how intimate experiences of power and abuse can scale into societal structures—and how self-awareness and reclaiming agency are key to resisting them.
