Survivor Stories

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  Survivor: Waqas

  Struggling to find help as a Muslim man | The stereotype is that Muslim men beat their wives. But I was the one being abused and for years I didn’t even recognize my e... read more

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  Survivor: Joanne

  Young, alone and far from home, she fought immigration issues to break free | I moved to America from Malta in 1988, when I was 19, to be with my high school sweethear... read more

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  Why Is She Speaking Out Now?

  We need to stop using a survivor’s fear of coming forward as a reason to disbelieve them | In light of the #MeToo movement and the Time’s Up campaign, one of the most ... read more

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  Survivor: Gus Brock

  Not many male survivors step forward. This truck driver was surprised to find support when he did | If you had to pick a domestic violence survivor out of a crowd, ... read more

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  Survivor: Kate

  After four years of verbal abuse, she didn’t predict her partner would attempt to murder her | Kate—not her real name—had her story splashed across newspapers, and th... read more

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  Nobody Would Have Been Surprised If I Had Died

  She says everyone knew she was living with an abuser growing up. No one intervened | It starts somewhere. It starts in the home. I know what a mass shooter can look... read more

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  DomesticShelters.org Book Club: Crazy Love

  Our first selection is Leslie Morgan Steiner’s best-selling memoir of narrowly escaping abuse with her life | Welcome to the DomesticShelters.org Book Club. Hopeful... read more

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  Survivor: Michele Weldon

  She put nine years of pain into prose and sold nearly 100,000 books | Michele Weldon had a doting boyfriend in her 20s. So doting, in fact, that he wanted to know ... read more

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  The Good Wife

  Forced to marry a stranger at 16, she spent a decade being isolated, humiliated and assaulted. Then, she planned her escape | When I was a kid, my only goal was to ... read more

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  Survivor Story: Nancy Wilkinson

  ‘I thought he was a gift from God. Then he tried to kill me.’ | Nancy Wilkinson has never been in a healthy relationship. “I’ve been married four times and ev... read more

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  Survivor: Christopher Anderson

  Severe neglect and abuse as a child sent one man on a lifetime journey of healing | Christopher Anderson grew up with domestic violence, but not the paradigm experien... read more

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  Survivor: Suzanna

  After escaping abuse, my ex began to cyberstalk me | After 13 years of marriage to a man who would eventually be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder, I... read more

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  Forbidden Food

  When abuse includes forced starvation and malnutrition | One of the great things about being an adult versus a kid is we get to make our own choices. We can wear wh... read more

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  When Survivors Are the Criminals

  In trying to prevent their own murders at the hands of their abusers, two survivors found themselves behind bars | Kim Dadou spent 17 years in prison for fatally sh... read more

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  Withholding Intimacy Can Be Abusive, Too

  Another type of sexual abuse includes using sex to taunt, control a victim | Michele Weston describes herself as “a smart girl with a college degree” who, for a whi... read more