Victory Over Violence

Im Nancy And I Am Going To Tell You A Story.. . For Twenty Years I Kept A Secret From My Family And Coworkers. The Secret Was That I Lived Two Lives. One A Successful Corporate Executive And The Other A Behind Closed Doors Battered Wife.. . Im A Survivor Of Domestic Violence. I Was Physically Emotionally And Economically Abused By My Husband. . . My Coping Mechanism Was A Fantasy World That I Created One Where Life Was Good.. . One Of My Favorite Fantasies Was That My Husband Was Dead. Being A Widow Would Be A Wonderful Thing Because It Was Acceptable To Be A Widow But Not Acceptable To Be A Divorced Woman. . . I Kept My Secret For Twenty Years Because I Was Ashamed.. . Then On December 28 1991 I Left. . . I No Longer Know The Nancy Who Left But I Will Always Be Grateful To That Person Inside Me Who Finally Summoned The Courage To Leave So That I Could Move On And Thrive. . . My Hope Is That Women Who Have Endured Their Own Struggles Find Something From My Story And Realize That They Too Can Create The Financially Self-Sufficient Life That They Choose And Achieve Their Own Victory Over Violence.