“I Am Just A Woman” gives a first-person account of domestic violence, marital rape and child sexual abuse. The book challenges society’s question of “Why does she stay?” by taking the reader on a page-turning journey inside the experience of a survivor. I have just one hope for this book: that it can help another person out there, a woman who is, or has been, in the situation in which I found myself back in 1983.
I am just a woman. There is nothing particularly special about me. I’m not rich or famous. I haven’t had a brilliant career. I haven’t made a name for myself in any way. The words people use to describe me are “brave” and “strong.” Over the past few years, as I have come to understand my life’s experiences, I have learned to hold on to those words. They are meaningful to me. If I had the choice between being “rich and famous” or “brave and strong,” I would choose the latter.
But in the end, I am just a woman. I know other people have life-changing experiences every day. We read their stories in the paper and online, and we see them on TV. My story hasn’t appeared on TV or in the newspaper. And I haven’t spoken about my life with many people. But the experiences I chronicle here not only changed my life, they changed me.
