A gunshot shattered the stillness of the warm South African night. This time it was for real, and it would change my life forever.

I was unwanted even before I was born. Maybe that was what made me strong enough to endure my mother’s lack of love and affection, my stepfather’s abuse, and my late husband’s mental cruelty.

I entered the world in the midst of the Blitz of London during World War II. By sixteen I was whisked off to South Africa during the tumultuous years of apartheid where I met and married a man who was unable to love or be loved.

Like many women before me, I went from one abusive situation into another. With four children to support, no source of income, and nowhere else to go, I was unable to leave the marriage.

I also feared that should I do so; I would be hunted down by my irrationally jealous husband so I stayed and endured physical and mental abuse for many years, until my marriage ended in his tragic death. This story of survival, was written to give hope to every woman who has undergone or is currently undergoing physical or mental abuse.

I broke the cycle and found true happiness. You can too!.