Episode 5: Finding Liberation and Reclaiming Agency Through a New Story with Cait West
Jul 30, 2024
"By giving voice to the cognitive dissonance required to be a woman under the patriarchy, you robbed it of its power." — Barbie
What does it take to break free from a life controlled by religious patriarchy? Cait shares her journey of awakening to the abuse and control she experienced growing up, and the long and courageous process of reclaiming her agency and voice.
Throughout the conversation, Cait discusses the challenges of writing about trauma, the importance of therapy in her healing journey, and her approach to portraying complex family dynamics with grace. She also reflects on the nature of liberation, both personal and collective, and how she maintains boundaries to avoid falling back into harmful patterns. If you’re looking for insights into the power of storytelling, the ongoing work of healing, and the pursuit of freedom from oppressive systems, this one’s for you.
download Episode Transcript 📄
Quotes 💬
In cult survivor community, we talk a lot about waking up and how when you're in a high control group, you feel like you're sedated or you're living a kind of a dream life that isn't quite real. And when you wake up, you can't unsee what's happening around you.
When someone says they're loving you, but they're hurting you at the same time, that's not real love.
The number one audience I wanted to reach is people who might relate in some way, whether that's growing up in this movement or being in an abusive relationship or having to leave family or break off relationships, whatever it is, religious trauma, purity culture. I hope that they feel seen and heard and reminded that their story matters.
I just want to see people as human beings who deserve compassion, even if they don't deserve it, if that makes sense. And that's just, I don't want to live in hate and resentment. And that's just my own choice.
I also believe that personal liberation needs to be tied to collective liberation. And so I don't want to completely forget what's happened to me until everyone is out of these situations.
Guest Spotlight
Cait is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre and Hawai`i Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and co-hosts the Survivors Discuss podcast.
Website | Substack | Instagram | TikTok
RIFT: Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy at Bookshop.org | on Amazon
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