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What does it really take to build a writing career out of your hardest story and stay whole while doing it? In this episode, I sit down with author Tia Levings, whose memoir A Well-Trained Wife has become an increasingly timely reckoning with religious trauma, patriarchy, and survival. With her second book I Belong to Me just hitting shelves, Tia pulls back the curtain on navigating back-to-back book launches, genre-hopping with intention, and growing a 110,000-follower platform without burning out or exploiting your own pain. If you've ever wondered how to turn a cooked story into a sustainable career, this conversation is for you.

Episode Highlights:

• 05:23 When Your Story Becomes the Work
• 13:11 The Cost of Visibility and Finding Regulation
• 24:25 Where Memoir and Self-Help Meet
• 35:12 Doing the Work Without Getting Stuck in It

Resources for this Episode:

• Order I Belong To Me
• Get Your Free Human Design Report
• Register for Build an Author Platform that Aligns with Your Design and Nervous System
• Ditch Your Inner Critic Now

Tia’s Bio: 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 religious trauma, evangelical patriarchy, and the Trad wife life, decoding the fundamentalist influences in our news and culture. Her work and quotes have appeared in Teen Vogue, Salon, Newsweek, and the HuffingtonPost. She also appeared in the hit Amazon docu-series, Shiny Happy People. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, she is mom to four incredible adults and likes to travel, hike, paint, and daydream. Find her on social media @TiaLevingsWriter. Her second book, I Belong to Me, releases May 5, 2026.

Connect with Tia:

• Read Tia Levings, Writer on Substack]
• Instagram: ⁠@tialevingswriter⁠⁠⁠
• TikTok: @tialevingswriter⁠⁠

Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
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Produced by Espresso Podcast Production