"Domestic violence doesn't just happen "out there" somewhere. It happens in our town, in our neighborhood, on our street. It happens to women we see at the supermarket, the movie theater, the ballet, and the PTA board meeting. It happens to our friends and our co-workers. It happens to our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, and ourselves. This book tells the stories of twelve women. Each was a victim of domestic violence. Each escaped from her abuser. Each reclaimed her dignity, reconstructed her life, rediscovered peace. Every woman who has left an abusive man, every woman who has yet to leave, will find encouragement and hope in the voices of these women who broke free"--Page 4 of cover.