Getting out of Domestic Violence is not always as easy as it sounds, especially when you have children to bring out too. It took me ten years to get free physically only for me to realize that I was still bound in my mind. Managing to come out from under the abuse with seven children in tow, I realized that if I truly was to survive, I needed to overcome. This required that I sat down and faced some difficult, but necessary truths. The first truth was that I needed to not exchange one abuser for another. Did I really know who my abuser was? Was I guilty of being my own abuser? If I was going to overcome the abuse I needed to face myself. Hard truths I needed to speak to myself. Necessary truths I needed to address and embrace.

"You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." - John 8:32

If I was going to be a survivor, I first had to become an overcomer. This story is a portrait of a survivor. It is a glimpse into my life and what I had to go through to get to where I am today as a survivor. This is a true story. It is my story, and I am free to tell it so that others can overcome their personal journey towards survival also.

Portrait Of A Survivor - A True Story by Jodi Lynn Serino-Barbour