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Survivor Stories

Hug,,Portrait,And,A,Mother,And,Child,At,The,Beach

A Place to Call Home

I actually did it.  I got out. It still feels surreal to say it – I never thought I would want to leave, let alone find the strength to go through with it. He got me to believe that I deserved it all. “He wouldn’t do this if you were a better partner,” I’d think […]

Portrait,Of,A,Young,High,School,Student,Bored,And,Frustrated

A Bad Student or a Domestic Violence Survivor?

Tick. Tick. Tick. Could time move any slower?? Brent* was struggling to keep his eyelids open, let alone pretend to pay attention, while the English teacher droned on and on about participles and subjunctive tenses and….oh honestly, she might as well have been speaking French. He hated English. The teacher probably hated him for sleeping […]

Education,,High,School,And,People,Concept,-,Group,Of,Happy

Letter to Teens: What I Wish I Had Known About Love

To my lovestruck teenage friends: First off, I’m not judging you. After all, I was you for a lot of years. And if I’m honest, sometimes I still fall into your dreamy, can’t-see-past-that-gorgeous-smile ways. I know you want to be in love. And I’m sure this guy or girl in your life seems like the best thing to ever […]

Light,From,The,Open,Door,To,The,Dark,Corridor,Of

When Home Isn’t Safe

We’re pretty good at safety in the US. We teach our kids to look both ways before crossing the road. We tell them not to talk to or take candy from a stranger. We lock our homes and cars, put up cameras, and install alarm systems. As an added layer of security, some of us […]

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Survivor Series: Forgiving Yourself for the “Should Haves”

“Why didn’t you just leave?” This is a question our survivors hear a lot. Unfortunately, loved ones, strangers, and even professionals don’t always understand the complexities of abuse and trauma. It’s not something you can easily walk away from and it can happen to ANYONE. One survivor shares her perspective: I was a certified domestic […]

Woman,Sitting,In,Armchair,And,Drinking,Coffee

Survivor Series: Breaking Free

*Continued from Survivor Series: Drowning in Infedility and Emotional Abuse* It had been almost a year and a half of the lies, the half-truths, and the manipulation. I started to forget what it felt like to be happy. Peace of mind or stability? They didn’t exist for me. In February of 2020, my husband resigned […]

Depressed,Woman,Lying,On,The,Bed

Survivor Series: Drowning in Infidelity and Emotional Abuse

Drowning in Infidelity and Emotional Abuse