091: A Survivor's Guide to Recovery and Hope After Religious Trauma with Tia Levings

091: A Survivor's Guide to Recovery and Hope After Religious Trauma with Tia Levings

What does it mean to own yourself after years of being told your body, voice, and choices belonged to someone else? Join us for a conversation with New York Times bestselling author Tia Levings as she unpacks the concept of autonomy as both a psychological milestone and a direct act of resistance against cult control. We talk about reclaiming autonomy in our minds, hearts, and bodies, how “should” is one of the most dangerous words in the recovery space, and how fundamentalism is a structure of thought that can show up along any spectrum. We explore the tension between silence as both safety and complicity, and how survivors can learn to wield their voice (and their quiet) with intention and autonomy. You’ll also hear about: * What fundamentalism actually is at its core * How to identify when a religious environment has become harmful * How pressure to share your story can replicate religious coercion * How religious indoctrination interrupts natural psychological development * Why belonging should never require surrendering your individuality Guest Spotlight ✨   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. Links & Resources 🔗  Website [https://tialevings.com/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/tialevingswriter] | Substack [https://tialevings.substack.com/] * I Belong to Me by Tia Levings | Amazon [https://amzn.to/3OIemrp] | Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/102806/9781250374271] * A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings | Amazon [https://amzn.to/4esnOcW] | Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/102806/9781250898050] ————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/support]. ————— Sign up [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/podcast-interest] to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/broken-to-beloved-podcast/id1751410316] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2RcmVVeoNVuaZ7VT37YKrc] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/294fcd0a-b854-4a6e-a991-27f02d6ac700/broken-to-beloved-podcast] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjZh2xZSE1ivbjxXBgbuZp78I9Fc7nJja] Leave us a rating and review on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-sounds-fun-with-annie-f-downs/id944925529?uo=4] or on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2RcmVVeoNVuaZ7VT37YKrc?si=e91f8316af5f4ca7]. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. ————— As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

090: A Slow Road Toward Faith with AJ Swoboda

After spiritual abuse, how do you separate the voice of Jesus from the voices that harmed you?  In this conversation with theologian and pastor A.J. Swoboda, we explore why slowing down — not speeding up — is the key to rebuilding a durable, honest faith after spiritual harm. How do you trust truth again when it's been weaponized against you? This conversation explores how we can learn to trust truth again when it's been weaponized. There can be ways to hold strong beliefs without becoming harmful, to understand that belief is not certainty, and that genuine theological knowledge should produce humility, not arrogance. You'll learn: * Why treating faith like a commodity does long-term damage * How truth is often used as a power play in religious communities * How to hold beliefs with humility rather than certainty * Why fundamentalism is a mindset that can exist anywhere on the political or theological spectrum * How lament is a legitimate and important part of the faith journey  Guest Spotlight ✨   Rev. Dr. A. J. Swoboda (Ph.D., Birmingham) is the lead pastor of Faith Center in Eugene, Oregon and is the associate professor of Bible and Theology at Bushnell University. He is the lead mentor of the Doctor of Ministry program in Christian Formation and Soul Care at Friends University. He is the author of many books, including The Gift of Thorns (Zondervan), After Doubt (Brazos), and the award-winning Subversive Sabbath (Brazos). He hosts the “Slow Theology” podcast (w/ Dr. Nijay Gupta) and writes the widely read “Low-Level Theologian” Substack. A.J. lives and works on an urban farm with his wife and son in Eugene, Oregon. Links & Resources 🔗  Substack [https://ajswoboda.substack.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnJxgfhZJzEU2LsihhLgcmu7v_X78AKFwkIsMs07Q2N4eUc3SaJC5G6JToP7M_aem_sgN_QYDwKJx4-LkeZXgYBw] | Website [http://ajswoboda.com/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/a.j.swoboda/] * Slow Theology Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slow-theology-simple-faith-for-chaotic-times/id1556188087] * Slow Theology by AJ Swoboda & Nijay Gupta | Amazon [https://www.notion.so/AJ-Swoboda-3052c0b7615d803284ffef8ea8d59b4c?pvs=21] | Bookshop ————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/support]. ————— Sign up [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/podcast-interest] to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/broken-to-beloved-podcast/id1751410316] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2RcmVVeoNVuaZ7VT37YKrc] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/294fcd0a-b854-4a6e-a991-27f02d6ac700/broken-to-beloved-podcast] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjZh2xZSE1ivbjxXBgbuZp78I9Fc7nJja] Leave us a rating and review on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-sounds-fun-with-annie-f-downs/id944925529?uo=4] or on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2RcmVVeoNVuaZ7VT37YKrc?si=e91f8316af5f4ca7]. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. ————— As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

089: Reimagining Faith Through Reconstruction with Tiffany Yecke Brooks

So I’ve deconstructed. What now? In her latest book, “To Rebehold the Stars,” author and professor Tiffany Yecke Brooks guides us into a hopeful path of reconstruction. Drawing on Dante, psychology, and spiritual formation, she invites us to reimagine faith with wonder, curiosity, and courage after spiritual abuse or disillusionment. Explore how naming experiences creates categories for healing and helps form a new, life-giving spiritual lexicon. Differentiate between discomfort that grows us and pain that harms us—and challenge spiritual teachings that keep us hostage to harm. Learn how to “audit” traditions, discern what aligns with the heart of God, and practice spiritual differentiation: forming your own faith while remaining in relationship if you wish. Guest Spotlight ✨   Tiffany Yecke Brooks is the lead or contributing writer for more than three dozen books, including multiple New York Times bestsellers. She writes about issues facing the modern church in her latest book, To Rebehold the Stars: Reimagining Faith and Formation After Deconstruction. She has also cowritten many books and written numerous articles for publications such as Smithsonian, New York Archives Magazine, and various peer-reviewed journals. Tiffany holds a PhD from Florida State University, an MA in Classics from the University of Bristol (UK) and an MA in Spiritual Formation from Portland Seminary. She has taught literature and writing at Florida State University, Abilene Christian University, McMurry University, and the University of South Carolina-Beaufort and currently teaches nonfiction writing at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma. Links & Resources 🔗  Website [https://www.tiffanyyeckebrooks.com/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/tfyeckebrooks] | Substack [https://tiffanyyeckebrooks.substack.com/] * THROUGH Cohort waitlist [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/through] * Gaslighted by God: Reconstructing a Disillusioned Faith by Tiffany Yecke Brooks on Amazon [https://amzn.to/4by3ZPh] | Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/102806/9780802878687] * Episode 7 [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/blog/episode7]: Forced Forgiveness: Misinterpreting Matthew 18 with Dr. Scot McKnight * Episode 36 [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/blog/episode36]: Burning a Path to Renewal with Erin Moon ————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/support]. ————— Sign up [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/podcast-interest] to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/broken-to-beloved-podcast/id1751410316] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2RcmVVeoNVuaZ7VT37YKrc] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/294fcd0a-b854-4a6e-a991-27f02d6ac700/broken-to-beloved-podcast] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjZh2xZSE1ivbjxXBgbuZp78I9Fc7nJja] Leave us a rating and review on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-sounds-fun-with-annie-f-downs/id944925529?uo=4] or on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2RcmVVeoNVuaZ7VT37YKrc?si=e91f8316af5f4ca7]. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. ————— As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

088: Carrying the Weight of Hope with Heaviness with Shannan Martin

In this episode, neighbor and author Shannan Martin shares her “counterweights” practice—how we move forward by carrying life’s heaviness with equal measures of rest, joy, and community. Together, we explore how to navigate the burdens we carry and the importance of community, grief, and hope. Shannan shares why we often can’t set our burdens down (and how privilege shapes who can), how grief is a counterweight to loss, and how naming both our weights and counterweights becomes a path to healing. From jailhouse church to backyard gardens, she shows how neighbors, embodied practices, and hope as a renewable resource keep us upright in a complicated and lopsided world. You’ll hear: * How grief functions as a healing counterweight to loss * Simple counterweights that aren’t just self care or spiritual bypassing * How being a neighbor can help and serve the vulnerable in your community * Why curiosity over certainty can be a counterweight in a changing faith—and how to rebuild belonging Guest Spotlight ✨ Shannan Martin is the bestselling author of several books, including Start with Hello, The Ministry of Ordinary Places, and the popular Substack The Soup. Shannan is a wannabe gardener, a news geek, a fighter for justice, and a thrift store stalker. She and her family live as grateful neighbors in Goshen, Indiana, where Shannan is on staff at the local community kitchen. Links & Resources 🔗  Website [https://www.shannanmartin.com/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/shannanwrites] | Substack [https://shannanmartin.substack.com/] * Counterweights by Shannan Martin | Amazon [https://amzn.to/4bhmpUt] | Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/102806/9780800740887] * Good Soil by Jeff Chu | Amazon [https://amzn.to/4brLXyp] | Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/102806/9780593727362] ————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/support]. ————— Sign up [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/podcast-interest] to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/broken-to-beloved-podcast/id1751410316] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2RcmVVeoNVuaZ7VT37YKrc] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/294fcd0a-b854-4a6e-a991-27f02d6ac700/broken-to-beloved-podcast] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjZh2xZSE1ivbjxXBgbuZp78I9Fc7nJja] Leave us a rating and review on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-sounds-fun-with-annie-f-downs/id944925529?uo=4] or on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2RcmVVeoNVuaZ7VT37YKrc?si=e91f8316af5f4ca7]. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. ————— As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

087: Identifying, Addressing, and Healing from Misogyny with Dorothy Greco

Have you ever heard people using a word that sounds important and like something you should already know about? Misogyny can feel like one of those words, and this week, we’re talking with author and journalist Dorothy Greco about her newest book, For the Love of Women. She expands the definition of misogyny beyond “hatred of women,” explores how it permeates everyday life—including the church—while offering a path toward healing and change. We talk about the spectrum of misogyny from subtle bias to overt abuse, how power and theology get misused in spiritual spaces, and practical ways men and communities can become allies, advocates, and interrupters. The conversation closes with hopeful practices for healing, boundaries, and cultivating beauty. You’ll hear: * Why power dynamics matter and the difference between patriarchy, complementarianism, and misogyny * Practical steps to confront misogyny: ally, advocate, and interruptor * How entitlement fuels harm and how men can begin with grief, empathy, and listening * Why anger can be a faithful, constructive response to injustice—and how to process it Guest Spotlight ✨   Dorothy Greco has worked as a photojournalist for more than forty years. She is a three-time author and has written for many publications including Christianity Today, Missio Alliance, Christians for Biblical Equality, and The Common Good. She is the mother of three grown men and a wife to one husband.  Links & Resources 🔗  Website [https://www.dorothygreco.com/] | Substack [https://dorothylittellgreco.substack.com/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/dorothylgreco/] * For the Love of Women: Uprooting and Healing Misogyny in America by Dorothy Greco | Amazon [https://amzn.to/41csThi] | Bookshop [https://bookshop.org/a/102806/9780310166702] Similar Episodes You Might Like * Episode 42: Safeguarding the Church against Sexism and Abuse [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/blog/episode42] with Dr. Andrew Bauman * Episode 41: Ordinary Women of Faith and Ministry [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/blog/episode41] with Beth Allison Barr * Episode 21: Deconstructing Deconstruction [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/blog/episode21] with Scot McKnight & Tommy Preson Phillips ————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/support]. ————— Sign up [https://www.brokentobeloved.org/podcast-interest] to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/broken-to-beloved-podcast/id1751410316] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2RcmVVeoNVuaZ7VT37YKrc] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/294fcd0a-b854-4a6e-a991-27f02d6ac700/broken-to-beloved-podcast] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjZh2xZSE1ivbjxXBgbuZp78I9Fc7nJja] Leave us a rating and review on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-sounds-fun-with-annie-f-downs/id944925529?uo=4] or on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2RcmVVeoNVuaZ7VT37YKrc?si=e91f8316af5f4ca7]. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. ————— As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.