The book begins with a murder, that of a wife by her husband, a far too frequent act. Throughout the length of the book, many acts of intimate partner violence are highlighted as well as rape, incest and the effects of violence on children. What sets this book apart from others on domestic violence is that the author doesn't stop there but expands the vision to recognize that the oppressive tactics which keep women subordinate are not used on women alone. So this book is not for women only, but for anyone who has ever felt disenfranchised by an unyielding power structure. Told by an author who spent twenty-one years working in the battered women's movement, the book moves between dialogue and narrative. While incorporating stories which have been fictionalized from the author's cases, the pages move from the personal to the political, from the specific to the universal. The book is timely. Recent media attention to the amount of domestic violence in organized sports has created a renewed interest in the general population. The author, an experienced public speaker, is available to speak to groups, classes or to lead workshops on the subject.