I am one of the "fortunate" ones. My marriage ended before it had the chance to escalate to physical violence. My son and I are still dealing emotionally with the results of the years of emotional abuse but life is sooo much better.

My son knows he is in a place where mistakes are allowed and he knows that you can learn from them. This is so much better than when he was scared of his own shadow and we walked around his Dad on eggshells - never knowing what would set him off.

I think it is our duty as survivors to tell our stories to others and educate them that what is happening must stop.

The decision to speak up and "fight" to end the marriage was made when I realized that my son's personality was changing. Somehow, I could deal with what my ex was doing to me - I married the guy - but my son didn't deserve to be in a place where he was always told how bad he was. A child learns by what he sees... so... I knew I had to change things to allow him to grow up seeing that people are good and life is full of possibilities. I have succeeded...