Released

A True Story of Escape from an Abusive Marriage

By: Shari Risoff

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Broken bones heal and bruises fade, but words can cut the soul. Do you believe that it’s your fault? Do you believe him or her when they say it's not bad enough to be abuse? Domestic violence manifests itself in different ways but most people 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 get away? Could I save my son and myself? Would the cycle of mental and emotional abuse ever stop? 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.