“I told my grandmother everything I could remember of that night, every detail of what he told me. My whole life changed in an instant; one day I had a family, then my family became smaller. I blamed myself for what had happened. I always thought I was dirty and an awful person because of what happened.”
‘Yes darling, what is it?,’ she said. ‘If I told you something, will you promise me nothing would to happen to my mom, sister or dad?’: Woman overcomes PTSD to find her ‘happy ending’
‘All I wanted was to make it home. He turned to pull into my apartment but didn’t stop.’: Woman overcomes kidnapping and domestic assault
“My boyfriend didn’t pick me up, so I started to walk home. A man in an SUV asked, ‘Do you need a ride?’ He got right back on the road and headed in the opposite direction. It was so strong and out of place. I contemplated jumping out, but he told me to shut the door. He kept driving. The lights became fewer and the houses became fewer. I kept crying…I couldn’t stop.”
‘I woke up, confused why he hadn’t come to get me. I came downstairs and found him dead on the floor. I was too late.’
“The next day I received a call. It was a voice I hadn’t heard in a while. ‘Hey, remember me?’ It was my dad! I rushed to the hospital in tears. My dad, my best friend, was dying.”
‘I was 20, got drugged, sexually assaulted and pregnant. ‘Why did you keep the baby?’ Well, this baby was a MIRACLE.’: Single mom overcomes abusive relationship to find her ‘prince charming’
“When my son was 10 months old, I fell in love with a guy who I thought was the one. I was positive I was going to marry him. Everything was great – or so it seemed. He would go through my phone. He’d go from saying how much he loved my child, to saying he would hit him after taking his diaper off. Later, I met my price charming. Did I mention he was excited to date a single mom? I have a keeper.”
‘Can I murder the baby now?’ My first day back to work from maternity leave, I got a text.’: 3-month-old shaken baby survives ‘extensive’ brain damage
“I called his father. ‘What happened?’ He didn’t have much to say. I choked down tears and made my way to the hospital. After x-rays, I was told they suspected child abuse. My baby was bleeding in his brain due to non-accidental trauma. I immediately went to his father. ‘How could this happen?!’ He just kept repeating, ‘He was choking on milk.’ I was enraged.”
‘His temper was sexy. The strength of this man, MY man, made me feel safe. I couldn’t have been more wrong.’: Woman ‘lets go’ of anger from abusive relationship after husband dies by suicide
“I remember him sobbing, telling me I’m the only woman ‘strong enough’ to fight back, so why didn’t I fight back? While changing clothes in our laundry room, I heard what sounded like a dumbbell dropping. I called to him and heard nothing. Our dogs were outside of our bedroom and nothing in the world could prepare you for what I found. My husband, lying on his back by that very weight set, bleeding. Emptiness is all I remember feeling. Regardless of the emotional and physical trauma this man had inflicted, I was traumatized.”
‘He claimed he was going to leave his mark on me for my next boyfriend. I had a scar wrapping from cheek to cheek, now known as the ‘girl that had her lip bitten off.’: Woman escapes abusive boyfriend, ‘I am no longer a victim, but a survivor’
“I wasn’t there to get back together with him. I refused, only to feel him latch on to me. I started screaming at the top of my lungs for help and out of fear for my life.”
‘I felt something hit my butt. ‘Do it again,’ I heard someone say. They snickered.’: Woman feels guilt over pressing charges after sexual assault, then demands, ‘I’ll see you in court.’
“Less than a minute later, I felt someone slowly run their fingers over my right butt cheek from the bottom and squeeze. I was wearing a long, velvet skirt – I could feel it all – and the heat of his hand. I pushed him backward and screamed, ‘Don’t you ever touch a woman like that!’ He gave me a dopey face and put his hands up in the air, as if pleading innocence. ‘Come on, it’s a compliment.’ I was hot with anger.”
‘STOOOOPPPP!’ I could no longer rationalize his strange and uncomfortable behavior.’: Sexual assault survivor bravely speaks up after 20 years, urges ‘you are not your story’
“I would witness dual sides of his personality. One would be full of love and laughter as a family man and the other would be animalistic and cruel. I felt like his prey. An outsider greatly misunderstood. I began to question whether or not it was my fault and if I’d somehow given him the wrong impression. I was sworn to secrecy.”
‘Well, Bobbie, that’s just what men do,’ she said to me tenderly. ‘My uncle did that to me too.’
“My eyes grew large as I looked at her and said, ‘No. That is not what men do.'”
