Overwhelmingly, almost everybody used the Bible in some way to defend her husband's abuse. Many “explained” he had justified anger towards her for not satisfying his needs, and others went about putting her “in her place.”

I managed to be perfectly still. I knew our lives that night depended on that stillness. His anger and agitation were palatable in the air.

It took away my right to feel what happened to me, to acknowledge it for what it did to me, and to understand how it still affects.