Released by Shari Risoff
Broken bones heal and bruises fade, but what if he convinces you that it’s not even abuse because he hasn’t put you in the hospital? What if he makes you believe that it’s your fault that he’s thrown you across the room or backhanded you across the face? Do you believe him when he says…
Broken bones heal and bruises fade, but what if he convinces you that it’s not even abuse because he hasn’t put you in the hospital? What if he makes you believe that it’s your fault that he’s thrown you across the room or backhanded you across the face?
Do you believe him when he says it’s not really bad enough to be abuse?
Domestic violence manifests itself in different ways but most women who walk into the trap don’t recognize any of the signs. This is my deeply personal story sharing my journey of increasing mental and verbal abuse, my struggle to fix and control my life through binging and purging, and confronting the fear that he would make good on his promise to take our son or kill me if I tried to leave.
Then there was a witness and the silence ended.
Little by little a plan to stay safe and eventually get away began to emerge. Then the plan became so enticing to him that it would cause him to choose.
But could I really get away with it? Could I save my son from the “sins of the father”?
Could I stop the cycle of mental and emotional abuse that was crippling me?
God alone held the answer.
I could not see the pieces of my soul breaking from the verbal, mental and emotional abuse, and I believed it was my fault, convinced that it was something I said or did. But ultimately I found hope and my honesty again.
If you are trapped in an abusive relationship, release is possible. With tenacious determination, you can break the cycle of codependency and control!
Note to Reader:
This story portrays verbal and mental abuse and therefore contains some profane language.
“Very accurate and helpful”
Five Star Review on Amazon By Cathryn Clinton
The author delivers on her promise of showing how women can be “brought up” to think and believe abuse is ok. Her description of the fundamentalist community is accurate. A woman can spend an entire life in this community brainwashed to believe that any deviation from their accepted biblical interpretation is considered “unfortunate,” at best, and “rebellious,” which equals witchcraft, at worst. In either case, a woman learns to “accept” her lot in life. The author not only unveils the thinking that keeps a woman in this place, she also delivers a practical step-by-step to eventually leaving this damaged life and recovering one’s true purpose and identity. The “hope” of being released is realized in this true story, and can give help to countless other women. I applaud the courage of the author. These truths are often painful in the telling, and yet the authenticity is what communicates.
About the Author
Shari Risoff is a freelance writer, editor and consultant based in Raleigh, NC. She studied business and spent years building client relationships in the corporate world and is passionate about communicating. She is the author of two books, Released: A True Story of Escape from an Abusive Marriage and Accidental Sabbatical. She began to consult and write full time during her own accidental sabbatical. She writes, and edits books for other authors, as well as helping small business owners with infrastructure or communication or projects of many kinds.
She is devoted to her husband Stephen. When she is not working on her new book, or hanging out with Stephen, she is reading books or studying human behavior. Readers or writers in need of an editor can get in touch via email: projectmavens @ risoff.com