I Belong to Me, Tia Levings
I Belong to Me, Tia Levings
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I Belong to Me
A Survivor’s Guide to Recovery and Hope after Religious Trauma

Author: Tia Levings

Narrator: Tia Levings

Unabridged: 13 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/05/2026


Synopsis

What does it mean to heal from trauma caused by the people, beliefs, and practices of your faith? And to rebuild a sense of self, when high-control religion said you shouldn’t have one? This program is read by the author.

"This gripping audiobook is a strong choice alongside books about high-demand religion, overcoming odds, and finding inner strength in impossible situations." —Booklist on A Well-Trained Wife (Starred Review)

Indoctrinated from early childhood to obey, conform, and want what others wanted for her, Tia Levings learned love and acceptance meant being someone other than herself.

After years of abuse in a violent marriage and high-control religion, Tia Levings escaped with her children (a story told in her memoir, A Well-Trained Wife) and thought the hardest was behind her.

But leaving was just the beginning.

With an audacious persistence to reclaim her life, Tia set off on a 15-year quest to psychological peace. The result is an emotionally regulated, actualized, self-aware woman who is able to tell her harrowing story without retraumatizing herself —a woman who can reach back to help others claim what’s theirs. If trauma took your past, it shouldn't get your present and future too.

Through a series of personal stories, therapeutic stages, and resources, Tia Levings guides listeners through the journey that helped her leave abuse, rediscover selfhood, and heal her mind, soul, and body after religious trauma —so that you can too.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press Essentials

About Tia Levings

TIA LEVINGS is the New York Times bestselling author of A Well-Trained Wife. She writes about the realities of religious trauma, decoding fundamentalist influences in today's culture. Her work and quotes have 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, paint, and daydream.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Anne on February 28, 2026

Tia understands religious trauma. She has lived in. She has worked through therapy to learn to cope and live well despite it. It's obvious in her writing that she has done the work. Her words, her advice, her resources are from a place of understanding and love. Tia writes from a caring, empathetic......more

Goodreads review by Kim on January 26, 2026

Tia Levings new book "I Belong to Me" was filled with encouragement, validation, and support for those who have suffered abuse. Tia did a great job explaining the connections of emotional and religious trauma, and how it impacts a person's autonomy and agency. She shares the different aspects of abu......more

Goodreads review by Amanda on January 05, 2026

I Belong to Me was a really validating read for me. This book felt like it was written with a lot of care for people who are still trying to understand how deeply religion can shape, harm, and linger in your body and mind long after you leave. Tia Levings approaches this work slowly and thoughtfully......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on February 15, 2026

Tia opens with what she would tell the reader if we met for coffee: "It's a lie that you'll be alone. There are thousands, if not millions, of survivors out here." I too have learned how true this is. Tia feels like a big sister to me, one who walked through (and came out of) extremely similar trauma......more

Goodreads review by Todd on January 16, 2026

I've read all or part of many self-help books. Most of them had some helpful ideas, but very few are memorable as I've aged. Tia Levings has written a book that describes the layers of overcoming religious trauma that resonated with me for just short of 400 pages. The dominance of the culture of Chri......more


Quotes

"Eloquent. [I Belong to Me] focuses on how to recover hope after a religious trauma—in fact, any trauma—examining the journey in minute detail with the goal of nurturing a healthy mind and body." —Booklist

"Tia Levings’s I Belong to Me thoughtfully and skillfully expresses the developing path forward for those of us deconstructing faith, not necessarily to replace it, but to rediscover what our trumped-up religion itself replaced and repressed: our humanity." —David R. Morris, author of Lost Faith and Wandering Souls

"Today, when the devastating effects of religious trauma are widespread and well known, Tia Leving’s book I Belong to Me is an essential lifeline. Tia not only identifies the effects of high control religion, but offers a gentle, nourishing pathway for recovering agency and strength to chart a new path. Tia’s helpful practices are only matched by her superb way with words! A pleasure to read." —Julie Bogart, author of Raising Critical Thinkers