Often, when I came home at night, the house was empty and my sleeping child was left alone. On another occasion I came home to find him waiting for me, out of his mind about something. I had a premonition that night that this was not going to be a good night. I heard a voice warning me not to go in the door, but I ignored it and went in. He punched me so hard my lip burst open and a front tooth was knocked out. Once married to a violent man, the author was what we have come to call a battered woman, living a life of daily terror and torture. This poignant book reveals the depths of her despair and how she escaped a hell on earth through faith and courage, taking the initiative, fleeing eventually to the safety of a refuge. This book will give hope to many women in a similar situation today. A Scottish woman shares her story of surviving and recovering from an abusive 14-year marriage. Returning to her childhood home to care for her 85-year-old mother, the author reflects on her childhood. Though headstrong, she lacked the self-confidence to heed her father's advice to "be different and then they will all want to be like you." Escaping her marriage was only the beginning of Donoghue's recovery; in the next several years, she underwent a difficult process of healing deep psychological and emotional wounds for both herself and her oldest son, a drug abus-er who ended up institutionalized and homeless. Donoghue's story of survival and healing is compelling and can offer hope to anyone in similar circumstances. -Kirkus Discoveries"