A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings Book Review

About the Book:

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 to their neighbors her family was strange, 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 faced 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 Review:

How well I remember the time Levings lived through. I went to a Bill Gothard seminar myself during my college years. As a Christian bookseller, I sold the books that influenced the movement she describes. I had no idea of the extent some males went in controlling and subjugating women. I wish a memoir like this one could in no way represent actual events. I am familiar enough with the people and books she mentions, however, that I believe her memoir represents a sad but real aspect of Christian extremism.

Levings' book is a timely memoir as there is currently a resurgence of this movement from decades ago. It was not a pleasant memoir to read as I would rather that this aspect of Christianity did not exist. I do recommend this book, however, as we need to be aware of the potential when some Christian teaching is taken to the extreme by those who delight in the power it gives over others.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Tia Levings writes stories that shine light on the abuses of Christian fundamentalism and offers insight into the true horrors of religious trauma. Her memoir, A Well-Trained Wife, releases with St. Martin's Press in 2024.

St. Martin's Press, 304 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)