I just finished listening to this beautifully written memoir on Audible. It depicts the not-so Christian underbelly of the extreme fundamentalist “christian” patriarchy. “Churches” that delegate women to slave hood—basically, the non-fiction Handmaid’s Tale.
As infuriating as it is hopeful, Tia starkly describes her "shiny happy", church-imposed hell on earth and her brave self-reclamation after leaving. Her recovery shines a beam of hope for religious trauma survivors and former cult members of all stripes.
Since my reclamation started in 2011, a theory about it keeps unfolding: the more you value your time, energy, and personal proclivities—setting boundaries, valuing, and respecting your own needs—the more the world starts reflecting that self-value back to you. I ask my clients to try it out as an experiment. See if it proves true, or not. So, I was thrilled when I got to this passage in Chapter 19…
“I struggled to trust the phenomenon that repeated itself over and over: When I had a need, the universe rose to meet it. I wasn’t alone out here. I was held by angels? …witnesses? God? … it manifested in the form of caring teachers who helped my children acclimate from home school; and neighbors who noticed my van broken down by the side of the road and stopped to help. And friends of my parents who donated furniture. And new friends at our new church… Every day, it was as if, the more I made choices to save me, the more others showed up to save me, too. The world was beautiful.”
This phenomenon keeps unfolding in my life and I see it unfolding for my clients, as well.
Since my “shelf-breaking moment” in 2011, pacing a path around a soccer field during sunrise, I thought to myself, “If I don’t protect myself, no one else will.” Today, the people around me support me, instead of working against me. I witness my clients experience this phenomenon, too.
Gentle Souls, Tia Levings took her life back. You can, too.
Comments