You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.

Many of us work hard to not be vulnerable. Yet we are wise to see our vulnerability as a welcome gift, albeit one that needs to be guarded and not exposed indiscriminately.

When the truth is finally recognized, survivors can begin their recovery. But far too often, secrecy prevails, and the story of the traumatic event surfaces, not as a verbal narrative, but as a symptom.

Tracing the recovery of survivors over time, a large body of research has now documented facts that make intuitive sense: social support is a powerful predictor of good recovery, while social isolation is toxic. People cannot feel safe alone, and they cannot mourn and make meaning alone.

Oppression is so much more than an anger problem or a marriage problem. Oppression is about coercive control. Oppressive behavior is not provoked. It is behavior that accomplishes something for the abuser. It is an expression of pernicious entitlement.