Warning: contains details of abuse
There was never any respite from my parent's constant bickering. Money for the electricity meter was sporadic, soap and toothpaste were occasional luxuries, family food was withheld until my father had been given what he saw as his right, the most private of intimate relationships with his wife.
Nothing was as it should be. I didn’t know that then, I thought my home life was normal because it was to me. The older I got and the more I saw other people's warm and friendly families the harder it was to live with. I needed to escape from that house. I desperately needed some healthy company. I began to look for a way out.

I thought my luck had changed when I met someone who offered not just safety, but prosperity and love forever. I had been cloistered away from the outside world and had no idea how to judge people. I was desperate, I took him at his word and was too quick to move in with him. What had started like a dream quickly became a nightmare. I had gone straight from one house of horrors to another and I pretty soon found myself as a victim in the Old Bailey.
Abuse can be subtle and it ricochets onto other members of the family. Those affected often try to normalise it, in a subconscious bid to keep the status quo. Abusers fight any urge to name and shame them with eloquent arguments designed to crush their victim’s confidence. Life for sufferers is anything but easy.
Could I save not only my misery, my heart and soul? Could I turn my life around and make something of it? Read on to find out.