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In this powerful episode of The Healing Lounge, Marcia Williams sits down with yoga instructor, meditation guide, and life coach Tarisha Fields, whose story of survival and self-reclamation after narcissistic abuse will move you to your core.

What begins as a conversation between two women who’ve walked similar paths unfolds into a raw and heartfelt journey through love, loss, self-discovery, and freedom.

For 17 years, Tarisha fought to hold together a marriage built on emotional manipulation and betrayal. Like so many survivors, she believed love could fix everything — if she just gave more, sacrificed more, and stayed loyal enough, it would finally be enough. But behind her strength and smile was quiet misery — a woman carrying the weight of everyone else’s needs while silently losing herself.

When her husband left, she hit rock bottom — collapsing on her mother’s porch, praying for strength to survive. That breakdown became her breakthrough. What followed was years of rebuilding, self-reflection, and ultimately, rebirth.

In this candid interview, Tarisha opens up about:

• The patterns of over-giving, people-pleasing, and rescuing that kept her trapped in cycles of pain
• The moment of surrender that changed everything and began her true healing journey
• How she unknowingly entered another narcissistic relationship — and what finally woke her up
• Why she says, “My healing began when I finally made it all about me.”
• The daily tools that sustain her peace — yoga, breathwork, journaling, and community
• The power of self-forgiveness and why you must forgive yourself before you can forgive them
• How she now helps other women heal through her business, Empower Her Within, and her book Her Inner Place: A 60-Day Journey to Cultivating Self-Love, Self-Awareness, and Self-Acceptance

This episode is a love letter to every woman who has ever stayed too long, loved too hard, or lost herself trying to fix someone else. It’s a reminder that healing isn’t about perfection — it’s about permission. Permission to pause, to breathe, to listen, and to start again.

If you’ve ever found yourself asking, “Why do I keep ending up in these kinds of relationships?” or “How do I begin to trust myself again?” — Tarisha’s story will remind you that peace is not only possible — it’s waiting for you.

Tune in, take notes, and take heart — because your healing begins

For 30 years, Marcia Williams lived in silence inside a marriage with a narcissist. In her powerful memoir GROOMED: Life Married to a Narcissist and How I Overcame Narcissistic Abuse, she shares the raw truth of that journey and the courageous steps she took to reclaim her peace.

This book is more than a survivor’s story. It’s a message of hope, resilience, and empowerment for anyone trapped in the cycle of narcissistic abuse.

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If you listened to Part 1, you know we covered the hardest part — waking up to the truth, letting go of the fantasy, and quietly planning your exit.

But once you leave the narcissist, a whole new journey begins.
In Part 2, Licensed Therapist and Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Coach Marcia Williams opens up about the next four steps — the part no one prepares you for:

• Step 4: Protecting the Kids — Breaking the cycle without breaking them, and creating emotional safety when the narcissist uses your children as leverage.
• Step 5: Don’t Expect Closure — Why accountability never comes and how to find peace without it.
• Step 6: The Withdrawal — Surviving the hoovering, the silence, and the emotional crash that comes after you leave.
• Step 7: Rebuilding You — Rediscovering who you are beyond survival, facing the shame, and learning to live free again.

Marcia shares the raw, real parts of her story — what it felt like to start over in her best friend’s basement, to face life 1,000 miles away from everything familiar, and to finally begin rebuilding her identity and peace.

If you’ve left a narcissist and you’re wondering “What now?” — this episode will remind you that healing isn’t about going back to who you were. It’s about becoming who you were meant to be.

And if this series spoke to you, I want to invite you deeper into this healing work.

You can start by reading my book “Groomed: Life Married to a Narcissist and How I Overcame Narcissistic Abuse.”

Or, if you’re ready for guided support, join my 7-Week Passage to Peace Program, where survivors just like you learn to heal, rebuild, and reconnect with themselves in a safe community.

You don’t have to do this alone — your healing begins the moment you decide you deserve peace more than you fear change.

For 30 years, Marcia Williams lived in silence inside a marriage with a narcissist. In her powerful memoir GROOMED: Life Married to a Narcissist and How I Overcame Narcissistic Abuse, she shares the raw truth of that journey and the courageous steps she took to reclaim her peace.

This book is more than a survivor’s story. It’s a message of hope, resilience, and empowerment for anyone trapped in the cycle of narcissistic abuse.

If you’ve ever wondered “Why can’t I just leave?”—you’re not weak. Trauma bonds are powerful, invisible chains that keep you tied to narcissistic abuse.

This free checklist will help you:

• Identify the signs of trauma bonding
• Understand the hidden hooks
• Take small steps to begin loosening the bond
• Replace shame with empowerment through affirmations and reflection

You don’t have to stay stuck. Start breaking the bond today.

Support the show

Get "GROOMED"

Follow me on Instagram!

Follow me on Tiktok!

Subscribe to my Youtube Channel!

Join my FaceBook Group!

Follow me on Linkden!

Find me on Psychology Today!

Learn more about our programs and services!

Share your comments with Marcia

Leaving a narcissist isn’t about packing a bag — it’s about reclaiming your mind, your power, and your peace.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why can’t I just walk away?” — or if you’ve left but still feel that emotional pull that keeps you wondering if you made the right choice — this episode is for you.

In this first part of the series, Licensed Therapist and Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Coach Marcia Williams walks you through the first three steps that helped her move from confusion to clarity, from fear to freedom:

• Step 1: The Wake-Up Call — Seeing the truth through the fog and recognizing emotional abuse for what it really is.
• Step 2: Emotional Detachment — Letting go of the fantasy and beginning to separate emotionally before you ever leave.
• Step 3: Safety First — Quietly planning your exit, starting in your mind long before you ever walk out the door.

Marcia continues to pull back the curtain on her own story — the tears, the fear, the phone bills, the kids, the basement, and the slow climb back to peace.
These are the same steps she now uses to help hundreds of survivors break free from narcissistic abuse and rebuild their lives.

So grab your journal, take a deep breath, and settle in.
By the end of this episode, you’ll know this truth: you can leave, you can heal, and you can rebuild your life one courageous step at a time.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where Marcia continues with the final steps — protecting your kids, releasing the need for closure, surviving the withdrawal, and reclaiming your peace.

Resources Mentioned:

• Book: Groomed: Life Married to a Narcissist and How I Overcame Narcissistic Abuse
• Join the 7-Week Passage to Peace Program → www.thepassagetopeace.com
• Free resource: The Trauma Bond Breaker Checklist

For 30 years, Marcia Williams lived in silence inside a marriage with a narcissist. In her powerful memoir GROOMED: Life Married to a Narcissist and How I Overcame Narcissistic Abuse, she shares the raw truth of that journey and the courageous steps she took to reclaim her peace.

This book is more than a survivor’s story. It’s a message of hope, resilience, and empowerment for anyone trapped in the cycle of narcissistic abuse.

Support the show

Get "GROOMED"

Follow me on Instagram!

Follow me on Tiktok!

Subscribe to my Youtube Channel!

Join my FaceBook Group!

Follow me on Linkden!

Find me on Psychology Today!

Learn more about our programs and services!