Released: A True Story of Escape from an Abusive Marriage

by Shari Risoff

Broken bones heal and bruises fade, but words can cut the soul. Do you believe that it’s your fault? Do you believe him or her when they say it's not bad enough to be abuse? Domestic violence manifests itself in different ways but most people who walk into the trap don’t recognize any of the signs. This is my deeply personal story sharing my journey of increasing mental and verbal abuse, my struggle to fix and control my life through binging and purging, and confronting the fear that he would make good on his promise to take our son or kill me if I tried to leave. Then there was a witness and the silence ended. Little by little a plan to stay safe and eventually get away began to emerge. Then the plan became so enticing to him that it would cause him to choose. But could I get away? Could I save my son and myself? Would the cycle of mental and emotional abuse ever stop? God alone held the answer. I could not see the pieces of my soul breaking from the verbal, mental and emotional abuse, and I believed it was my fault, convinced that it was something I said or did. But ultimately I found hope and my honesty again. If you are trapped in an abusive relationship, release is possible. With tenacious determination, you can break the cycle of codependency and control!Note to This story portrays verbal and mental abuse and therefore contains some profane language.

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2013

About the author

Shari Risoff is an author, editor and consultant She is the author of two books, Released: A True Story of Escape from an Abusive Marriage and Accidental Sabbatical. She began to consult and write full time during her own accidental sabbatical. She writes, and edits books for other authors, as well as helping small business owners with infrastructure or communication or projects of many kinds.

She is devoted to her husband Stephen. When she is not working on her new book, or hanging out with Stephen, she is reading books or studying human behavior, often on the court and forensic shows. Readers or writers in need of an editor can get in touch via email: projectmavens @ risoff.com or follow her on Twitter @ShariRisoff.

Reviews

[Temple Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Released: A True Story of Escape from an Abusive Marriage by Shari Risoff, is an extraordinary book of strength, survival, emotional wastelands, false hopes, gripping fear, love and hatred, and faith. The good Lord gets a lot of credit in this book, and I do not question this, but the true heroine is the author. She writes with strength and with beauty. Like all good books, in the end, there is redemption that bruises my soul with a black-and-blue mark I wear with pride. Five-stars and applause. – Temple Emmet Williams, a former editor of The Reader’s Digest

[Johanna Harness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Risoff tells the story of the release from her abusive relationship with compassion and empathy for all involved. Hers is a narrative with the power to heal, helping others find closure. The author demonstrates through many examples that there is a way to the other side of abuse, that freedom and release really are possible. This is an honest, heart-breaking, hopeful, and important book.