Recasting Religious Trauma
Recasting Religious Trauma Podcast
Interview with Marla Taviano, author of jaded and unbelieve
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Interview with Marla Taviano, author of jaded and unbelieve

"I don’t think it’s possible to change the church when everyone’s very, very invested in how things are."
20

You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts if you prefer (more platforms to come, as well!)

Do you want to own these books? YES YOU DO. Message her on Instagram to inquire about signed copies, even! Better deal than Amazon!

I’m delighted to bring you my interview with Marla Taviano! Marla is writer of numerous books, most recently her two books of poetry entitled "unbelieve" and "jaded," with the third in the trilogy to be released later this year. She’s a prolific reader as well as writer, and is the person behind the popular account on Instagram @whitegirllearning (where she posts every single day about a book by a person of color). She was the kind of committed Christian that she rivaled the Apostle Paul’s resume (as she writes about in a poem). She became a missionary of sorts in Cambodia where she skipped all the Trump years in the U.S., got divorced by her husband and discovering he was cheating on her, and oh yeah, was simultaneously going through a MASSIVE faith shift. We talk about faith deconstruction, reading, learning to be anti racist, navigating family relationships after a faith shift, and more!

Podcast highlights:

The “two Marla Tavianos” and Marla’s wild, wandering faith journey. What began to wake her up to racism, white supremacy, and how this ties in with religion. (2:00)

White Girl Learning Account on Instagram: what inspired her to start it back in 2017? (14:50)

“I realized about 99% of my books were by white people… I decided to [do a bookstagram] where I featured exclusively books that were not by white people!

Elements contributing to her faith deconstruction. Questioning the methods people used to count “conversions to Christ”… yes, if you give a hungry person a chicken, I’m sure they’ll say the right prayer! (19:00)

On reading the Bible literally:

I was learning another language and I was beginning to see how verses in the Bible didn’t match up [in the other language]!

You can’t ever please everyone in these faith shift journeys and advocating for antiracism:

Some people have been very offended by me, and some people think I’m too kind and gentle.

The things that make it all unravel… (27:00)

“We are not being honest about this stuff. I have recently been pushing on people who praise God for everything good and never blame God for anything bad.”

“One thing I’ve noticed, is why you can hate other people…it’s because you hate yourself. ‘I’m a wretched worm,’ and on and on, but it’s kind of a prideful thing. ‘Because I know all these things…’”

Navigating family and friend relationships post faith shift (31:00)

“We made the decision to live in South Carolina, in part because everything in Ohio felt like Marla Version 1.0… And also the weather is more comparable to Cambodia than Ohio!”

“We recently had a wonderful visit with my parents…because we talked about nothing [controversial]!”

On whether to stay in church:

“I don’t think it’s possible to change the church when everyone’s very very invested in how things are… they’re not going to listen to one person in the church.

The freedom after faith shifts:

People told me right after my husband left that ‘you’ll be so much better off without him.’ I could see what they were saying, but it discounted the pain I was in.

“The more I discover about myself, the more I discover about God, whoever God is.”

Lastly, I asked Marla for some book recommendations, especially being the bibliophile she is. She had trouble narrowing it down but chose these 3 that she’s read in the last 6 months and can’t stop thinking about:

The Light of the World (Elizabeth Alexander)

A House of My Own (Sandra Cisneros)

This Here Flesh (Cole Arthur Riley)


You can find Marla at all the usual places:

Her Substack, Writing Wholefarted:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/whitegirllearning/

IG personal: https://www.instagram.com/marlataviano

Twitter: https://twitter.com/marlataviano


Enjoy this interview? Got questions or comments? Got ideas for future people to interview? Drop a heart if you liked it, and meet you in the comments to hear your thoughts!

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Recasting Religious Trauma
Recasting Religious Trauma Podcast
/rēˈkast/: to give a different form by melting it down and reshaping it.
Understanding the trauma our religion inflicted so we can melt it down and reshape it to create a more whole and vibrant spirituality.