My life changed October 10, 1987 when I married a man who fooled me into believing he was my knight in shining armor. For the next 22 years he was the meanest, most evil man I have ever known. His cruelty knew no bounds. He could be so sweet one minute and blow his cork the next and spew ugly cruel words all over me. His game was to keep me off balance, to keep me scared, nervous, under his tight control. I had no family and no means to break free, and children to try to keep safe, shelter them from his cruel tongue. When he hit me he chose places on my body that others wouldn’t see, his calculating inflictions of pain were his way of reminding me that he held my life in his hands. When I became numb to it, he turned his hatred upon the children knowing they were my weakness. I would then try to protect them by intervening so he would inflict his madness upon me and leave them alone. On July 15, 2009 I finally broke free, homeless, living in my car, bathing in a river, sleeping on the side of the road. The kindness of strangers and God’s grace helping me survive finally got me through the last year on the run. I am now in my third year of college, chasing my Master’s in Psychology so I can help other women heal from the terror men who claim to love them inflict upon them. Women need to be empowered, young women need to know the stop signs in relationships and learn that it’s ok to say NO!!!