Welcome to the For The Love of The Matriarchy series where we’ll explore all the different aspects of women working to embrace agency and celebrating their worth. As we celebrate the power of women and their accomplishments, we’ll also look at the challenges women have faced in a patriarchal society (and still face) and what that means for their bodies and autonomy.

Cait West is an author who grew up in an extreme patriarchal Christian community. She was taught from a young age that her sole purpose was to become a submissive wife and mother. This pervasive sense of having no agency or control over her own life, combined with the constant messaging that she was inherently sinful and unworthy, took a profound toll on Cait's mental health, causing severe anxiety and depression from a very young age. Jen and Cait delve into how families can fall into toxic belief systems, and what recovery can look like.

Jen and Cait discuss:

The impact of being raised in a fundamentalist, patriarchal environment that severely restricts a woman's autonomy, education, and life choices.
The healing power of finding community, sharing one's story, and reclaiming agency after experiencing spiritual abuse and trauma.
The difficult but important choice of breaking free from oppressive systems, even when it means severing ties with your own family

If you’ve ever been a part of a toxic belief system, or felt the oppression of not having agency over your own life, Cait’s story will be a balm toward healing those wounds.

* * *


#ForTheLove #ForTheLovePodcast #JenHatmaker

_________

CHECK OUT Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
➤ Christian Patriarchy Movement - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblica...
➤ Tears of Eden (Nonprofit for survivors of spiritual abuse - https://www.tearsofeden.org/
➤ Rift: A Memoir by Cait West - https://www.caitwest.com/book


CONNECT with Our Guest!
➤ Website: https://www.caitwest.com/
➤ Facebook:   / caitwestwrites  
➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caitwestwri...
➤ Twitter: https://bit.ly/3UytS9l
➤ TikTok:   / caitwestwrites  
➤ Substack: https://caitwest.substack.com/

___

➤ JEN HATMAKER BOOK CLUB - Join the sisterhood! https://jenhatmakerbookclub.com

___

WATCH more videos from Jen:

➤ For the Love of Small Wins series: https://bit.ly/FTLsmallwins

➤ For the Love of The Enneagram series: https://bit.ly/FTLenneagram


➤ Happy Hour: http://bit.ly/JensHappyHour

➤ Monday Mornings with Jen: http://bit.ly/MondayMorningsJen

___

CONNECT with Jen!

➤ FOLLOW Jen on Instagram:   / jenhatmaker  

➤ FOLLOW Jen on Twitter:   / jenhatmaker  

➤ LIKE Jen on Facebook:   / jenhatmaker  

➤ SUBSCRIBE NOW on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatma...

➤ VISIT: http://jenhatmaker.com/

___

For more “For the Love” . . .

➤ SUBSCRIBE on Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/FTLPodcastApple

➤ LISTEN on Spotify: http://bit.ly/FTLPodcastSpotify

➤ HEAR IT on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/FTLPodcastStitcher

➤ LISTEN on iHeartRadio: http://bit.ly/FTLPodcastiHeart