Anyone who has been a victim of repeated harassment or abuse will tell you that the burden of emotional labor is enormous, and that it’s amplified by the pressure to keep quiet. “Stories save your life. And stories are your life. We are our stories; stories that can be both prison and the crowbar to […]
He had been pursuing me for so long and I had really fallen for him. I felt excited and alive around him and he made me feel so very desired. Have you ever woken up one day and realized you are dating an abuser? I have. It took me a while to realize this because being in […]
It took me a long, long time to understand that addiction isn’t the same as love. Trigger warning: abuse in relationships I don’t know that I’d ever given much thought to the concept of emotional abuse in relationships. Or, I thought of it as something clear, stark, the menacing man standing over the cowering woman, […]
Randall had a way of making cruel gestures look kind, dressing up abusive tendencies in a nice sweater. When I think of my relationship with my ex Randall*, I think of an episode of South Park. Cartman’s friends abandon him due to his atrocious behavior. The next day, he shows up at Kyle’s house wearing […]
I stayed with him for six years because I was convinced I owed it to my parents to make it work. I was convinced that no one else would ever love me. A question I’m often asked is, “Why did you stay with him for so long after everything that happened?” This is one question […]
