January 11, 2010
I was married to an abusive man for 25 years. I have 3 children and that made leaving difficult. Not that I didn’t try several times.
Unlike Conor, my husband would not leave our home and ultimately I did. In the process I lost access to my son for more than 10 years. I lost my house and personal belongings. My divorce in a no fault state took two years and more than $15,000. I kept some contact with one adult daughter, another young adult daughter was angry at me for many years. This was difficult and sad.
But nothing compared to the pain of losing access to my young son. I still wonder if I had known then what was going to happen, would I have left or waited until he was older? For years I played different scenarios out in my head of what I did wrong, how I could have done it differently. So maybe it was better that I did not know.
It’s been 14 years since I left that relationship, years of therapy, I have a nice home, a supportive caring partner and beginning relationships with my son who is now 26.
Each woman's story is different. I think there are many women who need to hear about parental alienation and know there is hope in the future.
