Hi, I'm Joelle
I'm a survivor, author, speaker, and coach
Thanks for visiting! I'm happy you're here.
Life writing is my passion. I first discovered the art when I learned journaling at the age of 13 and have been putting pen to paper ever since.
My debut memoir was published many years later in 2023. The Secret Practice: Eighteen Years on the Dark Side of Yoga tells the story of how I survived narcissistic and spiritual abuse in a long controlling relationship.
When I emerged from that difficult time, I knew I had to tell my story. Covert, narcissistic abuse is insidious and deliberately confusing. If I hadn’t experienced such deep deception and manipulation, I wouldn’t have imagined it was possible.
Yet no story is unique, and I also wanted to connect with others who may have had similar experiences.
Since publication I speak about my experience, advocate for survivors, and share my love of memoir through teaching workshops, interviewing authors on Elevating Voices, my YouTube channel, and co-hosting the Empowered Women Book Club.
The Secret Practice: Eighteen Years on the Dark Side of Yoga: A Memoir
Winner Spring 2024 Pencraft Best Book Award - Memoir
Honorable Mention 2024 Readers' Favorite Book Award - Religion/Philosophy
Finalist 2024 National Indie Excellence Awards - Relationships
Finalist 2024 Independent Author Network Best Book Awards -True Story
The Secret Practice Videobook
Narrated by Daniella Mestyanek Young - watch or listen to her read as she knits
Praise for The Secret Practice
This book offers readers a fascinating look at the sinister threads that can be knotted into spiritual yoga practice and the discernment we all need when seeking personal transformation.
—Melanie Brooks, author of A Hard Silence and Writing Hard Stories
This book was phenomenal! A really good example of how someone can walk themselves into a cult, or into coercive control, with “their eyes wide open”.
—Daniella Mestyanek Young, cult scholar and author of Uncultured and UnAmerican
Tamraz’s memoir is so timely and so significant. She… shows the reader what it took to transform herself, escape her marriage, and rediscover her true identity.
—Maria Daversa, clinical psychologist and author of Sweet Baby Mine
Such an important story...a captivating and hopeful story of growth and self-awareness"
—Jean Brown, of SEEK Safely, co-author of This Sweet Life
An intriguing and harrowing memoir that sheds light on the darker aspects of spiritual pursuit and manipulation.
—Romuald Demo, Readers' Favorite, 5-star review
A dramatic depiction of masterful mind-control practiced on a vulnerable party.
—Kirkus Reviews
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There's power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your own unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there's grace in being willing to know and hear others.
-Michelle Obama, Becoming