Flying Free is a support resource for women of faith who need hope and healing from hidden emotional abuse, spiritual abuse, and narcissistic abuse. Because of misogynistic theology taught in controlling and spiritually abusive churches, many Christian women find themselves in destructive marriages where there is an uneven power dynamic. Male partners use their status as a husband to gain power and control over a woman’s mind, emotions, body, social life, finances, and more. When she tries to get help from her equally abusive church environment, she is betrayed and re-abused. Flying Free offers a Christ-centered, gospel-oriented perspective on do...
Latest episodes
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36 min
Is Emotional Abuse Really Abuse? [393]
My pastors told me that what I was experiencing for over two decades wasn’t serious enough to be called “abuse.” They said I had to be physically hurt for it to cross the line of “…
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37 min
Don’t Get Divorced Without Reading This Book First: Legally Ending Love [392]
Today we welcome back Arizona family law attorney Wendy Hernandez to celebrate the release of her brand new book, Legally Ending Love, and to walk us through exactly what every wom…
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40 min
Why Do Christians Get So Mad When I Talk About God’s Love? [391]
Today I’m going to tell you about the last of the three books I picked as the most life-changing for me so far. I was nervous to write this episode because the book is controversia…
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35 min
How to Deal with Triggers that Make You Spiral Out [390]
This is the second in a 3-part series where I’m sharing the top three books that have changed my life. Last week I talked about the book A Failure of Nerve by Edwin Friedman. This…
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30 min
Why Do People Get Mad When You Change? [389]
A lot of people got mad at me when I started to change over ten years ago. They got so mad, they booted me out of my church and my family. In this episode, I’m going to tell you ab…
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1 h 08
"What if I'm the Abuser?" Is There Such a Thing as "Reactive Abuse?" [388]
This is a replay of one of the most listened to episodes in the Flying Free Podcast archives, and it’s such a good one, I thought I’d reshare it for our new listeners! If you've ev…
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1 h 25
Are You Estranged From a Parent or Adult Child? The Complicated Reasons and Layers of Pain in Parent/Adult-Chi…
Family estrangement. It’s kind of big on social media right now, but not always in a healthy kind of way. Gretchen Baskerville, author of The Life Saving Divorce, has done research…
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43 min
4 Types of Trauma Bond Withdrawal Symptoms You Need to Know [386]
If you are stepping away from an emotionally or spiritually destructive marriage and suddenly feel hit by severe anxiety, physical illness, obsessive thoughts, or a desperate urge…
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1 h 15
What Is the "Tradwife" Trend Really Selling Christian Women? [385]
In this episode, we’re doing something a little different. I’m opening up my private monthly book club discussion (usually just for Flying Higher members) and sharing it with you.…
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20 min
Is Emotional Neglect Abusive? [384]
Let’s talk about emotional neglect. Can we really categorize this as “abuse?” I say we can, and in today’s episode, I’m going to tell you why. In this episode, you’ll learn:Five sp…
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42 min
What's Gaslighting? Part Two: Four More Narcissistic Gaslighting Tactics and How to Unhook
This is part two of our series on the subtle gaslighting tactics emotional abusers and narcissists use in Christian marriage. You'll hear four more specific examples of what he say…
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42 min
What's Gaslighting? How to Spot the Subtle Signs You're Being Manipulated Part One [382]
Today we’ll talk about one of the most disorienting experiences Christian women in emotionally abusive marriages face: gaslighting. But we aren’t going to just define what gaslight…
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51 min
Healing From Religious Trauma: A Survivor's Roadmap with Tia Levings [381]
Tia Levings is the New York Times bestselling author of A Well-Trained Wife and her newest book, I Belong to Me. She survived a Christian patriarchy cult, escaped a near murder-sui…
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40 min
What if “Biblical Womanhood” is Actually a Trauma Response? [380]
Let’s talk about something called “the subjugation schema.” It's a clinical pattern that secular psychologists are actively trying to help women heal from, and the conservative Chr…
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19 min
Is Your Church Actually Safe for Abuse Survivors? Here's How to Find Out [379]
In this episode I’m answering a pressing question Christian women in difficult marriages ask: how do you find a church that will actually support you instead of silence you?Because…
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1 h 19
The Pastor's Wife Nobody Saw: Jessica's Story [378]
In this episode, I sit down with my real-life friend Jessica, a pastor's wife whose story intersects with mine: her husband was a pastor at the very church that excommunicated me.…
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28 min
Finding Your Freedom, Autonomy, and Independence - High Functioning Women Series Part Four [377]
This is part four of the High Functioning Christian Women in Destructive Marriages series, and today we talk about a concept that ties the whole series together: sovereignty. Synon…
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34 min
Trusting What You Know is True When Others Gaslight You - High Functioning Women Series Part Three [376]
This is Part Three of our series on high-functioning Christian women in destructive marriages. You are the woman people call when something complicated needs solving. You read room…
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29 min
Why Your Empathy is a Superpower (and a TARGET!) - High Functioning Women Series Part Two [375]
This is Part Two of my series on high-functioning Christian women in destructive marriages. In Part One, we explored how the very qualities that make these women extraordinary are…
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23 min
The Loneliness of the "Perfect" High Functioning Woman - High Functioning Women Series Part One [374]
So many capable, gifted Christian women are living a double life that is impressive in public, but diminished in private, and they don't even have words for what's happening to the…