Book Review: A Well-Trained Wife: A Memoir by Tia Levings-Memoir

Hello, dear Readers,

Below is my book review of A Well-Trained Wife: A Memoir by Tia Levings.

Title: A Well-Trained Wife: A Memoir 

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Tia Levings

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: August 06, 2024

Language: English

Hardcover: 304 pages

Meet the Author: Tia Levings

Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

“Today, it hit me when he hit me, blood shaking in my brain. Maybe there wasn’t a savior coming. Maybe it was up to me to save me.”

Recruited into the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement as a young wife, Tia Levings learned that being a good Christian meant following a list of additional life principles––a series of secret, special rules to obey. Being a godly and submissive wife in Christian Patriarchy included strict discipline, isolation, and an alternative lifestyle that appeared wholesome to outsiders. Women were to be silent, “keepers of the home.”

Tia knew that her family was strange to their neighbors, but she also couldn't risk exposing their secret lifestyle to police, doctors, teachers, or anyone outside of their church. Christians were called in scripture to be “in the world, not of it.” So, she hid in plain sight as years of abuse and pain followed. When Tia realized she was the only one who could protect her children from becoming the next generation of patriarchal men and submissive women, she began to resist and question how they lived. But in the patriarchy, a woman with opinions is in danger, and eventually, Tia faces an urgent and extreme choice: stay and face dire consequences or flee with her children.

Told in a beautiful, honest, and sometimes harrowing voice, A Well-Trained Wife is an unforgettable and timely memoir about a woman's race to save herself and her family and details the ways that extreme views can manifest in a marriage.

My Thoughts

Another fantastic memoir.

This book is so revealing and heartbreaking but, at the same time, very inspiring and honest. 

I can honestly say there were times I cried reading this book. I felt so upset and horrified at some of the situations the author went through. I kept hoping that she would find the light at the end of the tunnel, and even though it took time, she did, and I was so happy and relieved for her. Nobody should experience these kinds of things in life. However, it seems like the author managed to learn a lot, and now she uses her experiences to help other people. 

I appreciate the author sharing her story.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy