Interview With Author Dr. Rachel Levitch
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a cybersecurity executive, researcher, and media producer who works at the intersection of technology, psychology, and family systems. My professional background spans CISO‑level security leadership, privacy technology, and documentary production focused on narcissistic abuse recovery, digital desensitization, and tech‑enabled coercive control.
Alongside my security and media work, I serve families through our nonprofit initiatives with the Cognitive Institute of Dallas, where I authored a five‑book series (pentalogy) on restoration after child removal: Breaking Generational Curses; When Child Protective Services Takes Your Children. The pentalogy addresses the lived reality of CPS/DFPS involvement, the trauma of separation, and practical pathways toward reunification and healing—written for overwhelmed parents who need clear language, compassion, and actionable steps. The series has been distributed through Generation Thirty Publishing/MNMS and is cataloged across Amazon/Google Books and our Institute’s channels, which partner closely with WHFF.TV/Radio to extend family‑education content. [amazon.com], [amazon.com], [books.google.com], [buy-now.co…dallas.org], [buy-now.co…dallas.org], [einnews.com]
Stalking the Shadows is my newest book, chronicling how narcissistic abuse escalates through digital means—what happens when obsession gains a signal and a password. Its companion, Behind the Digital Chains, continues the journey into long‑term impact and the work of rebuilding autonomy. Together with the BGC pentalogy, these projects reflect my broader mission: translate complex technical and psychological dynamics into tools that protect families, restore dignity, and help people reclaim their lives.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Lately, my reading has leaned almost entirely toward research articles and academic journals focused on children, neuropsychology, and the hypnotic/addictive design patterns of social media. I’ve been diving deep into studies examining:
dopamine‑loop conditioning in youth,
algorithm‑driven desensitization,
attentional hijacking,
and behavioral addiction markers in minors,
all of which directly inform my work on parenting, digital safety, and tech‑mediated trauma.
I’m also immersed in research connected to my long‑standing role as a partner at the On‑I‑Apple Research Center (since 2014) and my ongoing work as principal advisor and CISO at Charles Edda & C. Bouley, where I oversee The Security Knowledge Base and its focus on strategic tactics, tools, and threat‑modeling for organizational defense.
To balance the academic reading, I revisit my own WHFF.TV educational publications, which synthesize these complex issues for parents:
WHFF.TV Presents Parenting and Technology: Social Media, Negative Content Creation and Desensitization, which covers how algorithmic influence shapes emotional development and why teaching children self‑defense online must go far beyond “don’t talk to strangers”; it requires fluency in coding, privacy layers, and digital hygiene. (Listing and description from Amazon product details.)
WHFF.TV Presents Deepfake Pornography: A Historical Lesson for Parents, which examines how AI‑generated exploitation impacts children and how families can build proactive digital defenses. (Amazon listing.)
Together, these readings help me track how rapidly children’s cognitive landscapes are shifting — not just emotionally, but neurologically — under the influence of addictive digital architecture.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do — and they’re shaped as much by my philanthropy as by my cybersecurity work.
I’ve always been a philanthropist at heart, which is why we launched the Cognitive Institute of Dallas in the late 1990s as a nonprofit dedicated to the restoration of families and community healing. That mission still guides my writing today. When I sit down to write, I’m not just crafting a narrative — I’m trying to restore something: dignity, clarity, or truth for people who feel voiceless or overwhelmed by systems larger than themselves.
My actual writing process is unusual.
I approach every project like a digital forensic investigation. I gather emotional and technical “evidence,” map psychological timelines against digital events, and examine how manipulation, control, and technology interact. This structure helps me show how abuse is rarely just emotional or just digital — it’s the fusion of both.
I also write in two distinct voices:
the analytical voice shaped by cybersecurity and risk analysis, and
the reflective voice shaped by trauma recovery work and years spent helping families navigate crisis.
Those voices allow me to bridge the technical with the human, which is essential when discussing cyber abuse, coercive control, or the emotional fallout that technology can magnify.
And, like many writers who wrestle with heavy themes, I write late at night. The world feels quieter, truth feels louder, and the emotional echoes are easier to follow when everything else is still.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My influences come from a blend of academic research, technology, human behavior, and authors who understand the complexities of people and relationships. Because my doctoral work focused on Technology and Performance Improvement in Engineering, and my dissertation examined Veterans’ Access to Healthcare, I’ve always been shaped by thinkers who explore systems, resilience, and how people overcome barriers. Technology and education evolve endlessly, and those two forces are constant guides in my work.
Although I don’t approach my writing from a religious or political standpoint, the Torah has always influenced me for one simple reason: it is one of the oldest and richest sources of understanding character dynamics, conflict, loyalty, betrayal, moral tension, and the psychology of human choice. I read it the way some people read Jung: through the lens of behavior, not doctrine.
On the literary side, I’ve always gravitated toward strong women authors and storytellers whose work reveals the emotional architecture of people under pressure:
Danielle Steel, whose sweeping stories of family, loss, resilience, and personal reinvention resonate with anyone who has lived through trauma or recovery. Her ability to capture internal strength amid chaos mirrors much of the emotional landscape I write about.
Joan Collins, not just as an actress but as an author. Her novels and memoir-style writings showcase glamour wrapped around human complexity — ambition, power, relationships, and the masks people wear. She writes characters who refuse to be small.
Elizabeth Taylor, whose own published works and legacy—from her diaries to her public storytelling—offer a perspective on love, identity, reinvention, and survival under extraordinary pressure. Her life itself reads like a trilogy of reinvention.
These women weren’t writing about technology or cyber trauma, but they understood people — the motivations, the wounds, the defiance, and the quiet moments of courage. That emotional intelligence influences the way I blend technical analysis with human experience in my books.
Ultimately, I am drawn to any author who reveals why people do what they do, especially when those behaviors are magnified or warped by stress, power imbalances, or digital influence. Those human truths are the heartbeat of my work.
What are you working on now?
Right now, my work is centered on one of the most important launches we’ve ever undertaken: the new WHFF.TV and WHFF.Radio platform premieres, which introduce our first webisode series devoted entirely to the restoration of families. This has been a mission close to my heart since the late 1990s when we founded the Cognitive Institute of Dallas. Today, that mission is more relevant and more needed than ever.
We’re currently in the middle of a cast call for families who are navigating separation, conflict, or long‑term disconnection. If your family has experienced a split, we want to hear your story — told your way — and stand with you in the belief that restoration is possible. This isn’t about agreeing on every issue or erasing what’s happened. It’s about acknowledging that we need family, and that healing can begin when communication becomes healthy, honest, and compassionate.
This project is what I call the “Milk‑Carton Effect” of the ’70s and ’80s — a reminder that when someone is missing, the community rallies. We’ve drifted too far from that collective instinct to restore, to reconnect, and to fight for one another.
The cast call is open now at WHFF.TV, and the stories we receive will shape the next wave of programming and advocacy.
In addition to the series launch, we’re preparing the second issue of WHFF Magazine, which will feature families, their journeys, and the tools that helped them rebuild communication and identity. It’s part of our expanded effort to blend media, education, and community healing.
And on the writing front, I’m working on the third trilogy installment in the Stalking the Shadows universe — the continuation of Behind the Digital Chains. This next volume dives deeper into psychological autonomy, digital fallout, and the long‑term reconstruction of identity after cyber‑mediated abuse.
Together, these projects reflect the same mission: education, restoration, and giving people the tools to reclaim what was lost — in their families, in their safety, and in themselves.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My promotional strategy is unique because I serve two completely different audiences that rarely overlap.
On one side, I write for and work within the cybersecurity community through my role with Charles Edda & Charles Bouley, where my audience is made up of engineers, CISOs, analysts, and enterprise leaders. For this group, the best way to find my work is simply by Googling my name—it connects people to my research footprint, cybersecurity publications, interviews, and professional contributions across platforms.
On the other side, I have a completely different audience through WHFF.TV and WHFF.Radio, sponsored by the Cognitive Institute of Dallas. This community includes families, survivors, parents, mental‑health advocates, and individuals seeking emotional restoration or guidance. For them, the most direct way to follow my work is through my two official websites:
https://rachellevitch.com — which features my upcoming tour schedule, book releases, and public appearances
https://rachellevitch.io — which highlights my technical, security, and research‑driven projects
WHFF.Radio — broadcasting the new podcast series based on the book’s themes
WHFF.TV — where we’re launching the Restoration of Families webisodes
Because of these two very different lanes—cybersecurity and family restoration—the simplest and most universal way for readers to discover my work is actually by searching my name on Google. It bridges both worlds automatically.
So my strongest promotional tools are:
Amazon (for book visibility and rankings)
Google search results (because both of my professional identities converge there)
RachelLevitch.com and RachelLevitch.io (for official updates)
WHFF.TV & WHFF.Radio (for media, podcasts, and community engagement)
Each platform speaks to a different side of my mission—but they all lead back to the same goal: educating, protecting, and restoring individuals and families through knowledge, technology, and storytelling.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is simple: trust your gut.
Not every book sells immediately — that doesn’t mean your story has failed, it simply means you haven’t found your audience yet. Every writer discovers their readers on a different timeline.
Don’t let numbers, algorithms, or early silence convince you to stop writing. Your voice may be ahead of its time, speaking to a community that hasn’t found you yet. Keep going.
Also, learn to separate what you HAVE to do from what you WANT to do.
One will always take priority in the moment — bills, commitments, deadlines — but your creative desire must remain protected. Honor both. Your responsibilities keep you grounded; your passion keeps you alive.
Hold them both close to your heart, and your writing will grow with you.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard is this: when fear shows up, you’re usually standing in the right place. Fear isn’t always a warning — sometimes it’s confirmation.
Fear of losing relationships that aren’t healthy is a sign that it’s time to let them go. If something is costing you your peace, it’s too expensive.
Fear of succeeding means you finally have something meaningful to risk — something worth protecting.
Fear of the unknown is your brain trying to keep you safe, but it shouldn’t stop you from walking forward. Safety and stagnation often look the same at first glance.
Fear of losing means you’re truly invested, and that others are invested in you, too.
Fear of embarrassment teaches humility; it reminds you that your self‑image is part of your growth, not something to hide from.
Fear of failure keeps you rational, grounded, and aware — not to prevent you from acting, but to help you act wisely.
I’ve learned that fear isn’t an enemy. It’s a compass. It tells you what matters. And when you learn to read it correctly, it becomes one of the most powerful guides you’ll ever have.
What are you reading now?
Honestly? Everything.
I’m in a season where my reading ranges from academic journals to current litigation materials — especially the Meta trial regarding kids and social media. The research coming out of that case, the expert testimonies, and the behavioral data on child‑algorithm interaction are incredibly important to me right now.
And here’s the truth: social media isn’t going anywhere.
Parents can’t wish it away, legislate it away, or parent it away by avoidance. What we can do is create balance — understanding how these platforms shape cognition, how they manipulate attention, and how kids internalize digital validation.
So my reading list is a mix of:
emerging studies on technology’s impact on child development,
research on algorithmic “hypnosis” and addictive design patterns,
and ongoing legal findings that reveal how social platforms operate behind the scenes.
I’m reading widely and aggressively because children’s digital lives are changing faster than the adults raising them — and staying informed is the only way to keep pace.
What’s next for you as a writer?
What’s next for me is simple: more.
More writing, more storytelling, more advocacy, and more building toward a legacy that outlives me.
I’m entering a season focused on expansion — expanding my reach, expanding the impact of my work, and expanding the platforms that connect families to real tools for healing. A major part of that is the global rollout of WHFF Broadcast & Media, where we’re bringing our restoration‑of‑families mission to an international audience through WHFF.TV, WHFF.Radio, and our upcoming programming slate.
Another exciting step is the growth of WHFF Magazine, which we’re using as a platform for editorial storytelling, featuring families who are rebuilding, reconciling, and redefining what connection looks like after disruption. It’s becoming a home for stories that deserve to be seen and heard — stories that remind us that restoration isn’t just possible, it’s necessary.
As a writer, I’m committed to continuing the Stalking the Shadows series, including the developing third installment that expands the universe of trauma, digital abuse, and psychological freedom. My goal is to create a full body of work that educates, empowers, and protects — a legacy built on truth, resilience, and action.
This next chapter is about momentum.
About reach.
About impact.
About building something that lasts — for families, for readers, and for anyone fighting their way back to themselves.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Well, that’s the easiest question you’ve asked.
I’d only need one — my Torah.
For me, it contains everything a human being needs to stay grounded: character, relationships, morality, accountability, history, and the foundations of our existence. Every story ever written is ultimately a variation of those same themes, and the Torah holds all of them in their purest form.
If I had that one book with me, I wouldn’t need anything else.
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