None of what happened in my marriage had to happen. My ex-husband selected me to marry; to be his wife in sickness & health, until death do we part. He chose his actions, he chose to abuse me.
I would never have left him if he had just been decent to me. I forced myself to endure his torture & mistreatment to keep our family together. Thinking that was my only choice.
He forced my hand, made our lives together unbearable, unlivable. Over the course of thirteen and a half years he wore me down so considerably I chose to leave him.
No matter how much I had wanted and prayed to die, thinking my death would be the only escape, in those final moments, I chose to live.
This is a multi-part series explaining my own experiences of what domestic abuse is and how it affected me. It is intentionally over-explained and goes into horrifying, explicit detail that I, as a victim, needed to hear. Denial is strong and one of the many reasons that people stay in abusive relationships. I can only hope that by sharing this story, that someone else gets themselves out of the abusive situation they are in.