Domestic abuse is a grave ill that doesn’t spare any strata of society. Almost all of us have been touched by it either directly or indirectly. Women, even those who are highly educated and one would expect independent, are subject to domestic abuse. A couple of my own colleagues, physicians I know had been suffering silently for years. It makes sense when you think about it.
It’s not just the woman who’s involved but the rest of the family, particularly the children who are used as pawns by the abusive partners. The abusers maintain a strict and severe psychological hold on their victims which prevents them from escaping even when help is available. I’ve seen women who are brought to the ER with telltale bruises and fractures but when asked they provide excuses and are terrified of registering complaints against their abusers. To escape takes enormous effort and courage yet often the trauma continues afterwards and has lasting effects that can be disabling and interfere with rehabilitation. When you think you’ve made it across the bridge, you find there’s still a mountain left to climb.
In her memoir Falling Perfectly Without Trying Jenny Delos Santos writes of what starts as an innocent tale of love but then transforms into an account of unimaginable horror. She shares a deeply personal account of how she overcame domestic abuse and the deep scars it left behind and is still continuing to do so. Her story is filled with incredible pain yet at the same time tremendous grit and hope that readers will find inspiration from. It touched my heart and so will it yours.
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