I received this in my inbox at 1:47 AM. No name. No return address. Just these words that felt like they were written with shaking hands and a steel spine. She asked me to share it. So here it is, unedited, in her words:
Dear BoundarySolutions,
I've been following your blog for months, always in incognito mode. I need you to share my story. Don't clean it up. Don't make it pretty. It's not pretty. Maybe some woman out there is reading this in her bathroom, with the water running so he won't hear her crying. This is for her.
I used to count the bruises like they were normal. Three on Tuesday. Five by Friday. The makeup companies loved me - I was their best customer, covering what he called "our little secrets."
That Thursday wasn't special. The dishes weren't done "right." They never were. His hand felt the same as it always did. The sting wasn't new. The ringing in my ears? Standard. But something snapped - not my bones this time. My mind.
I watched my blood drip onto our "Live, Laugh, Love" doormat - the irony wasn't lost on me. That's when I realized: I wasn't strong for staying. I was dying for believing I deserved this.
What changed? Nothing. And everything. That last hit wasn't the hardest. It wasn't the worst. But it was the last because I finally understood - the next hit could be my child's first.
To the woman reading this, hiding her phone screen: You're not weak for staying. But you're not noble either. You're surviving. The question is: do you want your survival story to end in statistics or freedom?
Remember: The first step isn't the hardest. The hardest step is believing you deserve to take it.
I'm safe now. That's all anyone needs to know. But somewhere, someone is counting their bruises like I used to. If you're her - yes, YOU - I wrote this for you. I wrote this because three months ago, I was you. And I want you to know that "one day" can be today.
If you're reading this, it found you for a reason.
- Anonymous Survivor
(Shared with permission from the author)
Domestic Violence Helpline:
- 1-877-TO END DV
- 1-877-863-6338 (Voice)
- 1-877-863-6339 (TTY)
The helpline is toll free, multilingual, and confidential. It is available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.
Domestic Violence National Hotline 1(800) 799 7233 (SAFE)
Until next time … because being brave means making sure there IS a next time.
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